(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter
by Randomestfandoms
Summary: Amethyst Adams has been away for a while but when her pseudo father, Fred Andrews, gets shot in Pops' Diner, there's no better time to come back. Walking into the hospital with her Serpents' jacket and a Take No Shit attitude, she doesn't care about how many Northside heads she turns as long as she can protect her own.
1. The Curious Incident

Amethyst Adams has been away for a while but when her pseudo father, Fred Andrews, gets shot in Pops' Diner, there's no better time to come back. Walking into the hospital with her Serpents' jacket and a Take No Shit attitude, she doesn't care about how many Northside heads she turns as long as she can protect her own.

AKA my "Riverdale denied me a Hard of Hearing/Ace character so I guess I have to do everything myself" spite fic, basically rewriting Riverdale from S02E01 onwards with more Southside, less bullshit, and actual character development  
(currently sticking with all the canon ships and general plotlines just not at the expense of decent storytelling)

 **Warning** : discussion of Ms. Grundy's relationship with Archie happens and she will be called a pedophile and it will be called rape. The writers may have avoided those words and tbh avoided actually talking about all that shit, but it's what happened and I'm not beating around that bush

The main character is asexual and hard of hearing -this is not a self insert or even all the same as my experiences, but I am writing as an asexual and hard of hearing person too- if you have problems with how I am writing any of it, feel free to talk to me, but know that I have some idea of what I'm talking about

 **(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter**

The Curious Incident

" _Hold me closer, tiny dancer…"_

Elton John broke through the silent room; Archie Andrews jolted up from where he was sitting in the hospital, jostling Betty and Veronica, who had surrounded him, and each grabbed a hand. Prying his hands away, he pulled out his ringing phone, answering it before his friends could read the name on his screen.

Quickly removing himself from the girls, he retrieved the ringing phone from his pocket, answering it before anyone could inquire about who was calling.

"Hell—"

"Come on, Red, call off your Bulldog!" interrupted a female voice, blearing in Archie's ear.

"Seriously Andrews, do you want these snakes gone?" another voice said over the phone—deeper and masculine. Reggie Mantle; Archie could recognize his voice anywhere. "Because the Bulldogs can take care of it."

Archie sighed. "Let her through, Reg," he said tiredly.

"Who was that?" Jughead asked from his seat beside Betty.

Archie didn't have time to answer before a small girl ran across the waiting room and into his arms. He stood up and caught her on instinct, barely registering the other short girl or the tall boy in leather jackets, or the entire Bulldogs team looking ready to fight. The girl pulled away after a few moments, giving Veronica a chance to seize her up.

Her jeans were ripped in the knees, the same black as her buckled ankle boots. Looking more closely, Veronica could see that the platformed lita heel must have been at least three inches, and that even with the boots, the girl was barely five feet tall. Her teal flannel was mostly covered by a leather jacket which, when she turned to talk to the two teens who had accompanied her, proudly showed off her Southside Serpent patch, which Veronica figured was a pretty solid explanation for the brown leather snake cuff on her right wrist, the snake tooth pendant dangling from a similar coloured cord around her neck, and the silver snake cuff on her left ear. While Veronica herself would never wear such a thing, the multiple piercings and red lips did a very good job of rounding off her Biker Chick Chic aesthetic.

While the Northsiders and Southsiders stared each other down, the girl had wrapped Archie in her arms and taken Veronica's seat, allowing Archie to collapse against her as he played with her dark brown ponytail.

"Are you sure you don't want us to clear out the vermin," Moose asked, still glaring daggers at the tallest- and only- boy in the trio.

"I'd like to see you try—" The boy stepped forward, hands clenched and ready to throw the first punch.

"Stand down, Sweet Pea," the pink haired girl told him, wrapping a hand around his bicep.

"Come on, Toni," he tried to insist.

"Down, Sweets," the shortest girl ordered from her seat. The boy, Sweet Pea, did as he was told, reluctance seeping through every pore.

As the tension, well, didn't quite dissolve, but became less urgent, everyone's attention seemed to turn back to Archie and the mystery girl.

"He was shot," Archie kept repeating, "we were just in Pops, and he was _shot_. Why would anyone want to shoot him?"

"I don't know, Red," the girl admitted, tightening her arms around him, "I don't know, but whoever it was is going to pay."

"I can't lose him, Ames, I can't."

"You won't," the girl vowed.

"So Archiekins," Veronica cut in, "care to introduce us?"

"Oh, right. So, Ames, these are-"

"The Prodigal Son, Girl Next Door, and… Holly Golightly?" She interrupted, nodding to Jughead, Betty, and Veronica respectively. "Then there's Mantle the Moronic, the Furry, and some other insignificant sets of muscle?" She added, looking to Reggie, Moose, and the rest of the bulldogs, "and oh, who could forget Joaquin's Prep," she finished, with a smile towards Kevin.

"It's Veronica, actually," Veronica corrected.

"Lodge, yes, I know. Isn't that what I said?"

"Play nice, Ames," Archie sighed fondly.

"Alright, fine. I'm Amy. Adams. These are Toni and Sweet Pea."

"And what are a bunch of Serpents doing at the hospital?" Jughead asked tersely.

"What were a bunch of Bulldogs doing at the Wyrm? Especially when _someone_ knew full well that I wouldn't be there," Amy retorted, looking directly at Archie.

Ignoring her look, Archie tried to change the subject, "did Mom call you?"

"Of course she did. And it's a good thing, too! Could this place not even be bothered to give you a clean cast? And why are you even in a cast?" Not giving him a chance to answer, Amy flagged down a nurse. "My friend here needs a clean cast and an update on Fred Andrews," she demanded.

"I'll get a doctor for the cast, but we can only give updates to family," the nurse told her.

"Archie is his family. Check his files, we should be listed as his emergency contacts if his wife, Mary Andrews, is unavailable, and she is—" she checked her phone— "currently trying to book herself on the next plane here. So, if you could please do your job, that would be much appreciated," she added with a dismissive smile.

"Ames, I'm fine," Archie tried to insist.

"I hate to agree with her, but you're far from fine," Jughead cut in.

Thankfully any argument was stopped by a doctor joining the group, "I'm here for an Archie Andrews?"

Archie stood up, with Amy close behind. "Family only, Miss," the doctor told her.

"Well, Doctor- McCray?" She asked, reading his nametag. He nodded. "Alright. You see, Doctor McCray, his mother is currently in Chicago booking a flight and his father is presumably in the hospital somewhere- although he could have been checked out by now for all we've been told, so that makes me the closest thing he's got to family. And given that he's clearly got a lot on his mind right now, he won't be going anywhere alone. Now, where to?" Her smile was as fake as the one she gave the nurse, though this one was more threatening. She turned to Archie, allowing the doctor to see the serpent adorning her jacket, "don't think you're getting out of telling me why your hand is in a cast though." He grinned fondly for a moment before the doctor sighed.

"Very well, Miss. Come along." Amy followed instantly, wrapping a protective arm around Archie.

The remaining Serpents stood to the side, both typing rapidly while exchanging the occasional glance and ignoring the Northsiders.

"Do you know her, Juggie?" Betty asked immediately.

"We've met. Never ends well," he said.

"How does she know Andrews?" Reggie demanded.

"Or any of us, for that matter," Kevin added.

"You'd have to ask her, or Archie, I guess, about how she knows him. As for the rest of you? My guess is from the other Serpents. Probably Joaquin."

While Jughead tried to avoid the onslaught of questions, Archie and Amy were led into a separate room, where Archie's cast was removed and quickly replaced with a clean one.

"If you'll wait here, I'll send someone to update you on Fred Andrews," the doctor assured them.

As soon as they were alone, Amy rounded on Archie.

"Seriously, Archibald? Going to the Wyrm is bad enough but in your Varsity jacket? I mean, congrats on making varsity but seriously? And while you knew I was in rehab? What were you thinking?"

"Well, Amethyst—" Amy rolled her eyes— "I was thinking that someone trashed Dad's equipment and jumped Moose, and that it might have been the Serpents."

"Okay, the Moose thing I get- he and the Keller kid have some weird tension and Joaquin is possessive as they come, but the equipment? You know your family is untouchable to most Serpents! FP and I made sure of it!"

"I know," he told her softly, "but I had to do something."

"I know, Arch, I know. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I would have done the same thing. And the hand?"

"Punching through ice on Sweetwater River to save Cheryl Blossom from dying."

"Classic golden boy," she teased, "that's even less surprising. Although Cheryl-"

Archie grinned at her- a small, watery grin, but a grin nonetheless. "Cheryl is alright. I know she stayed with Ronnie for a couple of days before going back home but I think that finding out about her dad killing Jason, and then his suicide… it was just too much for her."

Amy nodded sympathetically. She might not know or care for the Blossom girl, but Archie did, and she was all too familiar with how hard it was to find your parent's body, no matter how much you hated them.

A doctor returned shortly, informing them that Fred was still in surgery but had made it through the worst of it. Amy watched as the weight seemed to leave Archie's shoulders, and led him carefully back to the group.

"He should be okay," Archie told them, sitting back down and slumping against Amy once again.

"It was a Serpent, I'm telling you," Reggie insisted, earning twin glares from Toni and Sweet Pea.

"The Andrews' are untouchable by Serpent law," Amy informed him coolly. "I will, however, find out if anyone knows something."

Archie watched her pull out her phone, typing quickly before copying the message and sending it to two more chats.

"Really, Doll? Were the threats really necessary?" Sweet Pea asked from his corner of the room.

"Always, Sweets, always!"

"Who did you message?" Archie asked.

"The teen Serpents group chat, the whole gang's chat, and my cheer squad. Told them what happened and that if any of them heard anything, to let me know."

"And some creative threats about what would happen to anyone who kept anything from her or was in any way involved," Toni reminded her.

"Not to mention delegating very specific tasks with strict time limits," Sweet Pea added.

"It's effective," the smaller girl argued.

Archie tuned out the conversation, falling into a daze until being roughly shaken awake.

"I love you, Red, but I think it's time you change into something less bloody," Amy told him gently.

"But my dad-"

"Will be fine while you shower and change. I'll stand guard in his room to make sure he's safe and doesn't wake up alone. Seeing you covered in blood would only stress him out. Holly Golightly-"

"I'll go with him, make sure he looks presentable before we return—" Veronica smiled. Apparently the two girls had come to some sort of truce while Archie was distracted. He allowed his girlfriend to guide him to the car, vaguely aware of Toni following them and grabbing a bag from a motorcycle seat.

Electing not to ask, Veronica led Archie to Smithers' waiting car.

"You and Amy haven't tried to kill each other yet?" Archie said, more of a question than a statement.

"I offered to finance her threats and she promised she wasn't trying to steal my boyfriend. And it turns out we like a lot of the same books and movies, so we talked about that for a while."

"You thought—" Archie laughed— "you thought Amy was into me?"

"Strange girl shows up out of nowhere, my boyfriend is all over her, she's dismissive towards all of his friends? Of course I thought so."

"I promise, Ronnie, Amy is not interested. Like, at all."

Back in the hospital, Amy had convinced a nurse to tell her which room was Fred's, and the rest of the teens followed her there. She pulled the chair out of its corner so that she could sit closer to Fred, typing quickly into her phone.

Almost immediately after she put her phone down, Sweet Pea pulled his out, nodding at her slightly and ducking out of the room.

"Hold on, did you just text him?" Jughead asked incredulously.

Amy rolled her eyes, ignoring his question entirely, and greeted Toni as she came back into the room and tossed Amy a black satchel, which she immediately strapped around her waist and right leg.

"Saw Sweet Pea on my way out- how did you convince him to leave you alone with this lot?"

Amy grinned, tossing the taller girl her phone, "I have my ways."

Toni smirked as she read, tossing the phone back after a moment, "so how long do you think you have til he texts Fangs to confirm your story?"

"Hopefully long enough for Fangs to be done at the Wyrm and to get over here—" Amy shrugged— "he's more likely to text sooner since he doesn't trust any of these preps, but he won't text if he thinks Fangs is still on his bike."

"You should thank FP for the lectures on safe driving," Toni said with a smirk.

"You know I will- and that's on Fangs' to do list before he gets here."

"You're sending someone to visit jail to thank my dad for making you drive safely?" Jughead asked, incredulous.

"No, I'm going to thank our king later when I go visit him, which I do every day. Fangs is going to fill FP in on what happened, see if he knows anyone who might want to hurt him by targeting Fred, and will probably make some joke about the safe driving lectures, because that's what we do. You might not get this, but we love your father. And speaking of loving your father—" Amy turned to look at the doorway, where Hal and Alice Cooper were standing, Hermione Lodge right behind them.

"I didn't know Fred had any Southside acquaintances who aren't in prison," Alice said, forgoing a greeting altogether.

"Come on Mrs. Cooper, you know that rehab and jail aren't the same thing," Amy taunted.

" _Rehab?"_ Kevin mouthed to Betty, who shrugged.

"Audacious as ever, Amethyst," Alice replied, lips pursing as she finished speaking.

"Wait, you've… met?" Betty asked.

"We have," Amy told her curtly, turning back to her phone with no further explanation.

" _You thought you could go free, but the system is done for-"_

"Amy here," Amy greeted. Betty watched curiously- she was still typing away on her phone, and didn't have any headphones on, but she was definitely talking on her phone.

She watched as Amy fiddled with some sort of – was it a remote? – around her neck, listening to whoever was on the other end of the call.

"Dammit, he wasn't supposed to call yet," the girl complained. "You know what? Just tell him you're on your way-" she paused, having clearly been interrupted by the mystery speaker. "It's not technically a lie," she argued, "you are on your way! Come on, Fangs, he doesn't need to know that you just got there! Tell him you had pulled over when you saw the text but that you're on your way and you'll see him here. Please?"

She tilted her head, still typing as she listened, "yes, fine, whatever you want! Thanks, love you, see you!"

Toni, having apparently seen some secret cue, smirked at Amy, "what did he ask for this time?"

"Nothing appropriate for this company, that's for sure." Both girls smirked, turning simultaneously to their phones.

"Do you know how incredibly impolite it is to be texting while in a room with other people?" Alice asked, voice sharp.

"Oh, no, I had no idea," Amy said dryly, eyes still on her phone, "how am I ever supposed to survive knowing how terribly rude I'm being."

Toni snorted quietly while Alice rolled her eyes.

"So," Jughead started, hoping to avoid an Alice Cooper freak out, "Betty and I are going to go to Pop's, see if we can find anything, talk to Pop, maybe bring back some food."

They left before anyone had a chance to object, and Toni watched as Amy visibly relaxed.

"The rest of you can go too, you know. Toni and I have this covered til Red gets back," Amy offered.

"I'm not leaving when there's two snakes in here," Reggie growled.

"Chill, Reggie. I can't leave until my dad is done anyways, I'll stay with them," Kevin said.

Reggie paused, considering the offer. "Fine. If anything happens, it's on your head," he warned Amy, before the Bulldogs left.

"You can leave too," Amy told Alice and Hermione.

"Excuse me?" Alice demanded.

"Sorry, was I not clear? Leave." Alice gaped at her, before huffing loudly and storming out, Hal and Hermione following closely.

"Alright, good riddance," Amy smiled at Kevin, "so, Keller, you and Joaquin?"

Kevin smiled, "he was sweet and fun, and hot as hell, but I think it's good that it ended when it did."

"Not down with the covering up a murder thing?" Amy asked.

"Not down with the keeping it from me thing," he countered.

"Oh, yeah, that's fair. But 'hot as hell,' you said?" Toni smirked, watching the Northsider.

"Oh my god yes."

"God Toni, get to the point! How was the sex?"

Even as he turned red, Kevin's grin grew to match the girls'. "So good. His mouth is sinful," he sighed.

"If his kissing is anything to go by, damn you're a lucky son of a bitch," Amy agreed.

"You've kissed him?" Kevin asked, eyes wide.

"Of course I have. Last Saint Patrick's, I was wasted as can be, he drove me to his place to crash for the night, we made out a few times, kissed him in the morning to say thanks, and we've made out a few times since. Like you said, his mouth is sinful."

"Does he always do that jaw thing?" Kevin asked, not ready to question his gay ex-boyfriend having apparently, repeatedly, made out with his very female friend.

"Which one? The clenching his jaw thing or the hand on your jaw thing?"

"Well, both?" Kevin clarified.

"He does!"

"What are the jaw things?" Toni asked, the only person to have not made out with Joaquin multiple times.

"Well, you've seen the way he clenches his jaw, right?" Amy asked. Toni nodded, every Serpent knew that look. "Thought so. He does that right before he goes in for a kiss. The other one is basically just that when he kisses you he puts one hand on your jaw and the other in your hair – or maybe that's just because I have long hair, I dunno – to move your head however he wants. It's pretty domineering but like, pleasantly so?"

"The hair thing isn't just you," Kevin confirmed. "And it's not just with kissing."

"Damn, Keller!" Amy crowed.

"Sounds like I should have made out with him sometime," Toni chuckled.

"I'd have given my life to see that," Amy agreed, "maybe he'd finally let someone else take control."

"Think we can ever make that happen?" Kevin asked, matching Amy's smirk with one of his own.

"Oh absolutely, especially if the request comes from you." Kevin blushed at Toni's words, shaking his head slightly.

"Okay, so, anyways! Amy, what did you mean about rehab?" He asked suddenly.

"Tell you what- I'll tell you that whole mess if you fill me in on everything that's been going on in Riverdale, and with Archie, since July?"

"Deal."

Amy took a deep breath and started talking. "Okay so, the first thing you need to know is what I was mostly crashing in the basement of the Wyrm before the whole Jason Blossom thing—"

"—and yeah, I got back about a week ago and I've been crashing with Sweets since FP got arrested," she concluded, maybe fifteen minutes later.

"Not that she's actually crashed yet, or slept," a new voice countered.

The trio turned towards the door, and Amy beamed, "Fangs! Oh thank god you actually did get back before Sweets. And I can't afford to sleep, I need to get FP out of prison!"

Fangs laughed, "of course, babe, of course. Oh, and who's this?" He asked, giving Kevin a thorough onceover.

"Kevin Keller, Joaquin's ex," Amy told him. "Kevin, this is Fangs Fogarty."

"Joaquin's always had good taste," Fangs told Kevin, "so, did I miss the whole tragic backstory?"

Amy rolled her eyes, "I'd hardly call it tragic, and you already know it all. I agreed to tell him about the whole rehab stint if he filled me in on all the Northside shit I've missed."

"I didn't miss that, did I?"

"Just in time," Toni assured him.

"Technically it started on the Fourth of July, but really it started with Clifford Blossom telling Jason the truth about the family business—"

It was close to an hour later, and Kevin had just finished telling them about Clifford's suicide, when the door opened again. Archie walked into the room, sinking into the chair next to Amy's.

"Ronnie's gone to get coffee," he told them, "any updates on dad?"

"He was under some pretty heavy anesthesia for the surgery, so he probably won't wake up for a while still, but he's safely through the worst of it and as long as he follows their instructions, his recovery should be smooth," Amy recited.

Archie nodded, quiet, and sunk further into his chair. A moment later, the door opened again, and Sweet Pea entered. He didn't say anything, simply pulled out his phone and started to type. As he put his phone away, Fangs pulled his out and nodded at Sweet Pea.

"So, Arch," Amy started softly, Jennifer Gibson?"

"How did you-"

"I know everything, Arch. But seriously, what she did to you wasn't okay—" Archie opened his mouth, but Amy cut him off, "No, Red. I know what you're going to say; you love her, you wanted it, it was fine. But it wasn't. You're fifteen, Red. Legally, you're too young to consent, legally, she raped you."

"No one's called it rape before," he confessed.

Amy grabbed his hand tightly in hers, looking over her shoulder, "Sweets, put out a hit for me, will ya? I want her head on a pike."

"Ames, no," Archie pleaded, wrapping his other hand around hers. "Please. Just… can we pretend this never happened?"

Amy sighed, "alright, no hit. I don't know if we can pretend it never happened, but I can leave it for now?" Archie nodded slightly, knowing that that was the best he could get from her.

"I've got coffee," Veronica called out, pushing the door open with her hip, holding two full trays of coffee. Amy moved to help her, but saw that Kevin had already grabbed one of the trays, and was passing them around. She accepted the black coffee that he handed her, taking a long sip and immediately wincing as it burned her throat.

"So where did B and Jughead get to?" Veronica asked, looking around the room.

"They went to Pops, supposedly to look for anything that the police might've missed and to get food, but I'm pretty sure they were just running away from an Alice Cooper Nuclear Blowout, trademark pending."

They all laughed, sitting in peaceful silence until Betty and Jughead returned with food. As soon as they walked through the door, the atmosphere, and Amy herself, got significantly more tense.

Jughead didn't offer her any food, and Amy didn't ask, but Betty handed everyone a cheeseburger and she stole some fries from Archie, so she figured it wasn't worth starting a fight over. Instead, she took another long gulp of -now lukewarm- coffee, and grabbed another fry.

After a while, Archie broke the silence that had settled over the room. *"Guys, there's something I haven't told you, cause I'm so- I'm so ashamed. After the guy fired, I should've rushed to my dad straight away. Or I should've tackled the guy, but I was paralyzed. I didn't move, not even when the guy walked up to me, and he held his gun to my head. And I just closed my eyes, I don't know how long. Long enough for the guy to have taken my dad's wallet, I guess. But I didn't open them until I heard the bell – Pop's bell – which meant he was gone."

"There was nothing else you could've done," Betty told him.

"That's not true, Betty. I could've done anything to comfort my dad; to get the gun away from the guy. I was a coward—" Amy opened her mouth to interrupt, but Archie plowed on— "and now me and my dad were witnesses, Pop Tate too. This guy may have my dad's wallet, all his information. What if he comes back?"*

"Then we stop him," Amy said simply. "We make sure he can't hurt anyone else ever again."  
"How do we do that?" Archie asked quietly.

"Well we—" She gestured to herself and the other Serpents— "are always armed, Kevin's dad is the Sheriff, your mom is a kickass lawyer, and you guys are pretty much the real world Scooby Doo Gang. I don't know exactly what's going to happen next with this guy, if he's got other targets or if you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he's not touching your father ever again."

 _"Find table spaces, say your social graces—"_ As another ringtone blasted through the room, Amy once again glanced at her phone before fiddling with the remote around her neck.

"Talk to me Tall Boy," she demanded. As she started to pace, listening to the man on the phone, Sweet Pea reached out and unhooked the satchel from her waist.

"Tall Boy is FP's left hand- or, his second, I guess," Sweet Pea explained, "he hates Amy and he never uses the phone. So if he's actually calling her it means he found something, and none of us want her armed for that."

"So? Was it something or was he just running his mouth?" Amy demanded, before anyone could ask what Sweet Pea meant by armed. "Okay, good. Well, make him remind everyone that I won't be tolerating any of that bullshit- have Ricky snap me proof," she instructed. "Yeah, I'll tell FP. Thanks, Tall Boy."

Sweet Pea continued to stare at her until he saw her posture loosen. "So?"

"Some douche was holding court at the Wyrm talking about how Fred deserves this for letting Mrs. Lodge run shit and fire the Serpents from the construction crew. Turns out he was just a loudmouth and not the shooter, but this'll send a message."

"Good—" The taller boy nodded, reaching out to grab her by the waist and pull her close until she was straddling him— "you'll have to show me Ricky's proof though, got it?" Amy nodded, resting her head in the crook of his neck and letting the various conversations in the room wash over her.

"It might be a good thing that Fred is unconscious, or he'd fly off the handle seeing this," a new voice teased, startling an almost asleep Amy.

"Mary!" "Mom!" Amy and Archie both yelled, running to hug the redhead woman.

"You made it! But, let's be real, this is far from the worst thing Fred's seen me do," Amy pointed out.

"There was a flight just about to board when I got there, and I managed to get a ticket after explaining what had happened," Mary told them.

Keeping one arm around each kid, Mary led them back over to the chairs. "Alright kiddos, the doctor said that Fred should be waking up soon and then they'll just have to ask some basic questions to make sure everything is good and then he'll be able to come home."

"I need to go visit FP," Amy said suddenly.

"No, you don't," Fangs corrected her, pushing her back into her chair. "When I was there he told me, and I quote, 'tell Adams not to come by, I'd rather she keeps an eye on Freddie and Red.'"

"He used Adams?" When he nodded, Amy sighed, "yeah, guess I have no choice then."

"What's it matter?" Kevin asked.

"If he calls me Adams it means he's not talking to me as FP Jones, he's giving an order as the Serpent King. If I disobey he'll have me on dish duty at the Wyrm for at least a month. But," she turned to Mary nervously, "is it okay if I stay over?"

"Of course it is, Sweetheart, you know you never have to ask. Frankly I don't think either Archie or I would have let you go anywhere else as it is," the woman reassured her, running a gentle hand through the dark hair, long since freed from its usual ponytail.

"Come here," Sweet Pea whispered, pulling her back into his lap. "Are you going to be okay if we go to update FP?"

"I'll be fine, Sweets," she whispered back, "None of the Northsiders will touch me as long as Mary and Red are here, and I think that Keller might even be cool with me now."

"I know you'll be safe, doll, I meant emotionally. Given your dad… You're my family, doll, and I don't want to leave you alone if you're going to break down the moment we leave. You can lean on us, you know you can."

"I know Sweets, but Archie needs me right now, my own feelings can go on the backburner until he's okay—" Sweet Pea opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off before he could get a word in— "tell you what. Pick me up in the morning and we can skip first period with Toni and take your car to the Riverbank, and I'll talk then, okay?" He nodded reluctantly and, exchanging subtle glances, the four Serpents stood and went into the hallway.

"Alright guys, I'm staying with the Andrews' tonight, so I need you guys to update FP and check in with Ricky about the loudmouth, make sure Tall Boy told the whole truth, alright? I'll see you all at school," she promised. The other three all nodded, and they shared quick goodbye hugs before Amy returned to the room.

The Northsiders left soon after, and not long after that, Fred woke up. The doctors asked him some questions before clearing him to go home with very strict instructions for his recovery, which Amy committed to memory even as she pretended not to listen. Archie and Mary loaded Fred into the car while Amy hopped on her bike, beating them to the house and letting herself in with her key, immediately setting to work on implementing the doctor's instructions. As soon as they got home, Mary was helping Fred to bed, and Amy joined Archie on the stairs, preparing herself for a long night.

Fic title is from Wayward Daughter by Brown Bird, chapter title is from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

I will try to update regularly but I make no promises. I have things fairly planned out but they may change as Season 3 airs, but I'm always open to ideas and suggestions of what you would like to see, especially elements that you'd like to see handled differently than in canon

(any content between ** is quoted directly from canon)


	2. This Business of Surviving

Morning rolls around and with it, another day of school. Leaving Archie to Riverdale, Amy heads across town to Southside High, but first she promised Sweet Pea a conversation. At school, she has a few people to get information from, which is followed by a shift at the Wyrm and a sleepover with her friends, which is interrupted by the discovery of another body.

Chapter title is from Final Girl by Daphne Gottlieb

WARNING: serious discussion in which characters plan a murder, reference to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and all of their abuse, and mentions of alcohol abuse and addiction

 **(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter**

It Sounds Better Than It Is (This Business of Surviving)

"Coming through," Archie warned Amy, slipping behind her with a stack of pancakes.

"Hot pan," she called back, lifting a pan of bacon off of the stove.

"Wow, kids, you didn't need to do this," Mary told them, helping Fred down the stairs.

They both shrugged, "yeah, but, we wanted to," Archie said.

While Archie hugged his mom, Amy served up three plates before chugging down three cups of coffee and handing out the plates.

"Aren't you eating?" Fred asked.

"No can do," she explained with a grin, "I told Sweets that I'd meet him at the trailer park by 7:30 and I still need to get changed—if I'm late, he'll definitely storm the Northside to find me."

"You go get dressed, Sweetheart," Mary told her, "I'll pack up some containers for you to share- will it be all four of you?"

Amy nodded, swallowing another mouthful of coffee. "You're the best! I'll be down in ten!"

Exactly ten minutes later, Amy returned downstairs. She had traded Archie's old shirt—her usual pyjamas when she stayed at the Andrews—for an oversized flannel which fell to the middle of her thighs, cinched with the black belt of her usual hip holster. She accepted the stack of containers, throwing on her Serpents jacket and lacing up her boots before heading outside, lifting the seat of her bike to store the containers.

"Don't you need your backpack or something?" Mary asked from the doorway, handing Amy the phone that she'd forgotten on the kitchen counter.

"Nope! My backpack and duffle both live in Sweets' car," she said before climbing onto her bike and making her way back to the Southside.

She pulled into the trailer park with just minutes to spare, parking her bike behind the Jones' trailer, like she always did, and grabbed the containers from inside her seat.

"There you are, Doll!" She heard Sweet Pea say, turning to see his teal Jeep Wrangler sitting outside of Toni's trailer.

"It's not like I'm late," she whined, gratefully accepting his hand as she climbed into the passenger seat. "God, why did you have to get such a tall car?"  
"It's not that tall, you're just tiny," he taunted.

"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too," she said, leaning over the console to hug him.

"Wow, I feel loved," Fangs called from the back seat.

"Sorry Fangs," she said with a laugh, "you know how distracting this asshole can be."

"Don't we all," he agreed, leering at the taller boy. "Although you can give him a run for his money with the way that shirt rides up." Amy just laughed, sliding the hem of the shirt further up her thigh.

Moments later, Toni was climbing into the backseat. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Your uncle?" Fangs asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary—" she was quick to reassure them— "He got home late last night and I'm pretty sure he's still drunk."

The other three nodded in understanding, all too familiar with his drunken behaviour. Sweet Pea put the car into gear and took off, driving past Southside High to the riverbanks. While the land was usually unoccupied, it was the original Serpent territory and even the Ghoulies had never tried to take it. As soon as the car was in park, Toni and Amy grabbed the various bags from the trunk and tossed them into the front while the boys lowered the rear seats to create their usual sitting area. The boys climbed in first, helping the much shorter girls with the step up. Once they were all in, Sweet Pea pulled Amy between his legs, forcing her to lean back against him.

"Alright, Doll, you promised you'd talk to us. How are you?"

"How do you think?" Amy retorted. "God, I've been out of rehab for less than a week and suddenly FP is in jail, Fred's been shot, and I can't even stay at the trailer because fucking Jughead is staying there now." She wiped her eyes, trying, and failing, to bite back her sobs. "My actual dad was a piece of shit, you guys know that, but I was still devastated when he died… but now I feel like I'm about to lose the two closest people I have to actual dads and that's so much worse. And I just keep feeling like this is my fault—like, if I hadn't had to go back to rehab then maybe I could have done something?" She took a deep breath, smiling shakily when Toni placed a supportive hand on her knee. "Like, maybe if I wasn't such a fuck up I could have saved even just one of them. But no, instead I was fucked up beyond belief and—"

"Okay, stop with the self-deprecation," Toni demanded, "the addiction thing isn't your fault—"

"But—" Amy started.

"Nope, I'm with Tiny," Sweet Pea agreed, cutting her off. "You were raised by an asshole who preferred to get you to sleep with whiskey instead of milk because he couldn't be bothered to get off his ass and raise a child. That messed you up before you were old enough to have any say, you can't blame yourself for the results."

"He's right," Fangs added, "and you weren't 'fucked up beyond belief' and you know it. Mustang went behind FP's back and shipped you off to the Sisters because they'd already been paid to deal with Jason. As soon as he found out, FP got you out, remember? The only reason he sent you to rehab instead of bringing you home is because people were starting to pay attention and he didn't want anyone finding out that you're legally orphaned and getting you stuck in foster care. I was there when he told you that, babe, he wasn't just making excuses."

"Thanks for letting me finish," Toni teased, before grabbing Amy's cheeks and forcing her to make eye contact. "God, Amy, FP loves you so fucking much, so does Fred, and so do we. I know you wish you could have done something, but do you think any of us would have let you put yourself in danger? Fights with Ghoulies are one thing, taking on murderers is something else entirely. You're too important to all of us to let you risk your life like that."

"Besides," Sweet Pea continued, "Fred survived. And FP won't get life, he just needs to get the jury to believe him that he was only acting to protect his son. And as for the trailer? It's bullshit that you can't stay there, it really is, but we've already got everything sorted. Mrs. F has night shifts Wednesday through Friday, so we'll stay there for those nights, and we can sleep here the rest of the nights. You're not alone, Doll, we've got you."

"Thanks, Sweets." Amy smiled at the taller boy, pecking him on the lips before doing the same to the other two. She wiped her eyes again and tightened her ponytail. "So, what are the schedules tonight?"

"We're working til eight," Sweet Pea told her, gesturing to himself and Fangs. He may not approve of the way she bottled everything up, but he knew that they had pushed enough for one morning.

"And we work eight til close," Toni reminded the other girl.

"Perfect. Alright so Toni and I can do homework at the garage and grab takeout, so we can eat during your break, then you guys can do homework at the Wyrm, and we'll all crash in the Jeep?" Her fellow Serpents nodded. "Good, alright. Just let me get changed before we go to school?"  
"Oh but you look so good in just my shirt," Sweet Pea teased.

"I look good in everything," Amy said easily, "and I didn't think you'd want anyone else seeing me like this."  
"He definitely doesn't," Fangs agreed, reaching over the seats to grab her duffle bag. "Your uniform and some regular clothes."

"Thanks," Amy said, taking the bag. She rummaged through until she pulled out a pair of black jeans with lace up sides and a black bandeau, both of which she pulled on with no hesitation. She pulled her jacket and boots back on, tossing the flannel into her duffle bag. "Ready?"

Sweet Pea helped her out of the trunk and they got back into their respective seats, parking at the trailer park and climbing onto their bikes. It wasn't easy to ride with a backpack and a duffle bag, but years of practice had made it manageable, and soon they were pulling into the school parking lot, sneaking through the maintenance door to avoid the metal detectors.

They walked down the hallway, crowds parting like the Red Sea. They stayed silent, staring straight ahead until they crossed paths with a boy in a Serpent jacket.

"Ricky. Talk to me, have you heard anything more?" Amy demanded.

"I haven't, but Lottie was asking if anyone had seen you earlier so she's probably the best person to ask," he reported, before parting ways with the others, heading to his next class.

"Alright," Amy turned to her group, "Lottie's in my geometry class next, I'll talk to her and fill you in during chem."

The group split ways, with Sweet Pea walking Amy to her classroom, right next to his own algebra class, while Fangs and Toni made their way to their history class.

"Amy!" A blonde girl whisper shouted as Amy slid into the seat next to her, "finally! I've been looking for you all morning. Apparently, everyone at Riverdale High blames a Southsider, but no Serpent or Ghoulie knows a thing."

"Which means it was probably either a Northsider or someone passing through… Good to know. We shouldn't speculate too much during class but sit with us at lunch, so we can compare different stories, make sure it all lines up?"

"Of course!" Lottie exclaimed. It was a rare privilege to sit with the senior-most Serpents in the school, and word was sure to spread throughout the entire gang, raising her status significantly.

Amy smiled at her, calculated but genuine nonetheless, before turning to the front of the class. She fiddled briefly with the remote around her neck, spacing out as music flooded through her hearing aids. She set her phone on top of her open notebook and opened her Facebook chat with Archie.

 **Ames:** _Hey Red 3 how's school today?_

She closed the chat, knowing that Archie wouldn't reply as long as he was in class, instead opening her eBooks, returning to her chapter of The Reptile Room.

Hearing the bell ring, Amy tossed her notebook into her bag—not that she used it to take any actual notes in geometry, but as long as it looked like she was working, teachers didn't care if she actually did anything in class—and met Sweet Pea at the door.

"So, anything?" he asked immediately, draping an arm around her shoulders.

"I said I'd fill you in during chem," she reminded him, "I don't want to have to repeat myself."

Sweet Pea laughed, "of course not," he agreed. "Did you even pretend to listen today?"

"I opened my notebook," she offered. "Tutor me tonight?"

"Like always." The girl smiled, reaching up to hold the hand over her shoulder, not letting go until they were dropping their bags and getting comfortable on their lab stools.

"So?" Toni demanded immediately, from where she and Fangs had been waiting across the table.

"Northsiders blame one of us, but apparently no Serpent or Ghoulie knows anything. She'll be sitting with us at lunch to compare everyone's stories. I'm pretty sure it was a Northsider, though it could have been a Ghoulie or someone passing through, but I want to be sure."

"Can we finish this at lunch? I don't want you guys burning off my eyebrows again," Fangs whined.

"They were only lightly singed," Amy argued, "but fine."

Fangs took charge of the lab, still not trusting his friends with fire and chemicals. They wrapped up with a few minutes to spare and continued to discuss theories about the shooter until the bell rang, at which point they made their way to the cafeteria, the girls claiming their usual table while the boys got the food.

Alice waved Lottie over when the blonde entered the cafeteria, and she joined them with a smile.

"Hey Lottie- I've gotta get back to a couple of people but you can fill these guys in while I do," Amy said, gesturing to Toni and the boys, who had just returned with trays.

As they started talking, Amy turned on her phone and reopened her chat with Archie.

 **Red:** _Managing 3 every1s heard by now but no1 is saying anything bout it, idk if id rather they did or not_

 **Ames:** _stares are usually better than questions, but if anyone upsets you lmk and I'll deal with them_

 **Red:** _u dont need 2 kill my friends_

 **Ames:** _if they hurt you they deserve it_

 **Red:** _*sigh* arguing is pointless isn't it?_

 **Ames:** _100% ily_

 **Red:** _ily 2_

Done talking to Archie for the moment, she switched to reading messages from various classmates, but all of them said more or less the same thing, that no Southsider had any involvement. Amy replied to each with a thank you and instructions to let her know if anything new came out, before slipping her phone into her pocket and turning her attention to the group.

They crosschecked every story, looking for any holes, but they all checked out, so Amy finally conceded that it was most likely a one-off, but told herself she would still ask around at the Wyrm. When the bell rang, the quartet made their way to Spanish class, Amy got comfortable, or as comfortable as was possible in the hard plastic chairs, and set herself up for a nap—the other three were all fluent, they could teach her privately, and she desperately needed some sleep.

"Ready for the history test?" Sweet Pea asked as the class wrapped up.

"Don't remind me," Amy groaned, letting the taller boy wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I didn't have time to study at all what with FP being in the hospital and also the fact that I've only been back for a week."

Sweet Pea laughed. "Maybe not but you know everything about the World Wars."  
"Not everything!" Amy argued, pouting slightly.

"Okay maybe not, but definitely enough to pass the test—" Amy would have shrugged, but Sweet Pea's arm was in the way, so she settled for sticking her tongue out at him— "Don't do that unless you plan on using it," the boy taunted.

"I'd rather that than take a test," Amy offered, eagerly jumping at an excuse to skip class.

"Keep it in your pants, you two," Fangs warned them as he and Toni split off to go to their own classes—the duo had totally forgotten that they were still there, but both rolled their eyes as they left.

They reached their next classroom and, as always, claimed the table in the back corner for themselves. Sweet Pea kicked his legs onto the table, leaning back without a care, while Amy frantically read through her notes until the class actually began and the tests were handed out. Despite her anxieties, she was the first to finish and felt quite confident in her answers, but held on to her paper until a few others had turned theirs in. Since the entire period was blocked for the test, she set her test on the teacher's desk and returned to her seat, immediately opening her phone and going back to reading The Reptile Room, blasting music into her hearing aids. She was so lost in her head that she didn't hear the bell and had really no idea that class had ended until Sweet Pea shook her, turning off her music and standing with a groan.

"Come on, Doll, only one more class and then you have practice," he reminded her, getting a small smile for her efforts. It was clear that her lack of sleep was catching up to her, but she straightened her spine as she grabbed her bag, allowing herself to be walked to the art room where Sweet Pea left her with Toni, the boy heading to join Fangs for shop class.

Amy could have jumped for joy when their teacher told them that it was a work period, grabbing a table easel and canvas, as well as a several paints and brushes and a tray, while Toni set off to develop some of her negatives. Without thinking about it, Amy poured out some red paint. She closed her eyes for a moment before she began, picturing the way blood had stained Fred's hospital gown. One corner of the canvas was covered in orange and blue—Archie's hair and varsity jacket—as she remembered the boy's panic. Another corner turned black and green—her own rage and panic— all while the red spread and spread. The third corner was a mix of black—Fangs and Sweet Pea—and pink—Toni, of course—and the final corner was burgundy—Veronica—baby blue—Betty—and olive green—Kevin. It was messy, but she felt lighter than she had since Mary called her the day before, and by the time class ended, the canvas was set to the side to dry, so that she could continue to work on it the next day.

Fangs and Sweet Pea met them outside of the classroom, always firm in their refusal to let the girls walk around in a school crawling with Ghoulies, accompanying them to Amy's locker to get her duffle bag, and then to the locker room, where both left them to change into their red, white, and black cheerleading uniforms. Once they were in the locker room, the boys left, taking their bikes to the auto shop where the girls would meet them in an hour.

The girls joined the rest of their team for practice, tossing both of their clothes into Amy's bag and locking it away. They didn't have any major routines to learn, so Ally, their captain, had them running drills for the first half and then working on stunts. When practice finished they went back to the locker room, and Amy texted Sweet Pea to let him know that they would be showering before heading to the shop; if the four of them were going to be sleeping in the Jeep, they really didn't want to deal with any more sweat than inevitable. Once they finished their showers, Toni tied her hair into two braids and pulled Amy's into a French braid for her. They pulled on their normal clothes and Amy grabbed the duffle, before heading back to the hall lockers to get their backpacks. Finally ready to leave, they hopped on their bikes, parking at the Wyrm before crossing the parking lot to the shop.

"Honey we're home," Amy called out, getting greetings from both boys—Sweet Pea bent over the hood of a truck and Fangs on his back underneath it.

Grabbing Sweet Pea's keys from where his bag sat on the counter, Amy unlocked the Jeep to toss her duffle bag in. Once that was done, she and Toni set up in their usual corner of the room to do their homework—the owner was a fellow Serpent and was used to the girls being with the boys whenever they didn't have work of their own. An hour later, with only her Spanish homework left, Amy announced that she and Toni were going to get food.

"I'm taking the car," she warned Sweet Pea, digging the keys out of the pocket where she had shoved them earlier. While she and Toni both preferred bikes, they'd long since learned their lesson about driving with food.

"Only if Toni drives," he called back, "you can't reach the pedals!"

"That was one time!" Amy argued. One time wherein she had wound up in a ditch, blaming the accident on her height rather than her inability to drive. Of course the others knew that it was an excuse, but Sweet Pea loved to tease her about it.

"You haven't grown since then," he reminded her, "Toni drives."

Amy sighed loudly but handed over the keys. They drove to the Costco outside of town, using Mary's old membership card to get in—Amy always covered the photo with her thumb and no one had ever asked to see it—and ordered a large pepperoni pizza. The Northsiders may have Pops', but Costco was much more affordable and could feed all of them for less than a single meal at Pops'. They set it carefully in the trunk and returned to the shop. Both boys punched out while Toni put the keys back in Sweet Pea's bag and Amy set up the pizza box on their designated homework table. While they usually never did homework during the breaks, preferring to take the time to just hang out, Amy insisted that they fill her in on what she slept through during Spanish. When the boys had to get back to work, Amy took the opportunity to finish her book and Toni pulled out her camera.

At quarter to eight, the girls packed up to head to the Wyrm. The boys would come over as soon as they finished their shift, but the girls needed time to punch in and get sorted.

The first thing Amy did when they got there was head to the bathroom and, using the very limited visible space on the mirror—the space not covered in stickers and graffiti—, free her hair from its braid and tie it up in its usual ponytail instead. When she got back to the bar, Toni had thrown both of their backpacks into the Jeep, so the girls swiped in quickly and took over from Hog Eye, who had some sort of business meeting with Penny Peabody to get to, and was happy to leave them to their devices.

The girls had only served a handful of drinks by the time the boys joined them, setting up in one corner of the bar to do their homework. It wasn't until Tall Boy waved her down for a scotch that Amy realized that Jughead was there. She poured the scotch and made her way across the bar to deliver it, but froze when she heard what Tall Boy was saying.

"Sounds to me like FP is in some serious trouble. I think you need someone who makes a living on getting snakes out of trouble- a Snake Charmer, so to speak."

"For fuck's sake, Tall Boy," Amy started, drawing the attention of her friends, "the Princeling is barely even a Serpent and you already want to get him tangled up with Peabody?"

"You watch your mouth, Princess," Tall boy sneered, reaching over to grab the glass from her.

Amy wasn't easy to intimidate, but as the man leaned over her she had to fight her gut instinct to flee.

"Hey, Tall Boy," Sweet Pea shouted, standing straight. While he wasn't as tall as the older man, his boots gave him enough of a lift that they appeared more or less the same height, and Sweet Pea used that advantage anytime one of the drunks in the bar would yell at either girl. "Why don't you lay off her? And anyways, Peabody works for Serpents and like she said—" he gestured towards Amy— "the little Jones definitely doesn't qualify."

"Doesn't matter if she's right or wrong, the bitch needs to learn her place. FP might have a soft spot for her but I'm thinking Mustang had the right idea about what to do with her."

Sweet Pea could see Amy flinch and, remembering how traumatized she had been when FP got her away from the Sisters, he fought back the urge to punch him. "He chose to live in the goddamn drive in over living with a Serpent—and not just any Serpent, our king! Why should any of us help him? We can protect FP just fine without him, it's not like he ever cared before."

"Quiet!" Amy screamed, effectively silencing the entire bar. "Sweets, Tall Boy, if you're going to fight you can do it outside. Jones, for once in your life respect your father's wishes, and don't get involved with the Snake Charmer, and yes, I know that's what he'd tell you too." The two men quieted immediately, although the tension didn't dissipate. As an afterthought she added, "Lottie, be a babe and get some music going?"

Lottie nodded from where she was playing pool by the jukebox and moments later Joan Jett filled the room. Amy gave the girl a thumbs up, both for the choice itself and for the fact that Tall Boy absolutely hated what he called "chick music" and would inevitably end up leaving to get drunk in his trailer instead.

"Well that was fun," Amy sighed, making her way back to Toni and Fangs, Sweet Pea joining them a moment later.

"You okay, Doll?" Sweet Pea asked worriedly.

"Nope—" she faked a grin— "But I will be… eventually… We're closing at one, though," she told Toni, who nodded.

"Take Sweet Pea and take five," Toni told her, "I can handle this."

Amy sighed with relief, grabbing the aforementioned boy and dragging him to the bathroom, rolling her eyes at the scattered cheers and wolf whistles. She pushed Sweet Pea into the girls' room and locked the door behind them, immediately sinking to the floor. Sweet Pea crouched down to her level, taking her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him.

"Hey, look at me, Doll," he murmured, "you're here, in the Wyrm, not back there. Tall Boy can't touch you, Mustang can't touch you. Just breathe with me," he instructed, "in, and out. In, and out. There we go, that's it Doll." As Amy slowed her breathing, he moved his hands from her face to her shoulders, pulling her against his chest in a tight hug.

Amy wrapped her arms around him tightly, pressing herself closer and letting him lift her into his lap. "Sorry about—" she gestured vaguely with one hand— "all of that."

"It's fine, Doll," he promised, "but I might kill Tall Boy anyway."

Amy laughed wetly. "Don't bother, we don't need you in jail too." After a few more moments she pulled away, letting Sweet Pea stand and help her up. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand before unlocking the bathroom door and returning to the bar as if nothing had happened.

"Had fun?" Fangs asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I wish," Sweet Pea groaned dramatically.

"Oh please, you all know I much prefer the back room for things like that," Amy teased.

The night continued without any more incidents, and thankfully everyone cleared out by midnight, so it was no problem for the girls to close up early. The boys had already moved all four bikes to their usual spot behind the Jones' trailer, so they all rifled through Amy's duffle to grab their respective pyjamas—she always kept pyjamas and a spare outfit for each of them—and changed in the bar. None of them minded the others seeing them in any state of undress, and it was way easier than trying to change in the back of the car. While all four of them preferred to sleep in underclothes, the cold weather meant that that wasn't an option, so instead they all wore the matching green and black flannel pyjamas that FP had gotten them a couple of years before. They had to keep shoes on to cross the parking lot, but Amy kicked hers off as soon as she was in the car. Sweet Pea drove them to the riverbanks, parking in the shade of some trees. Much like in the morning, the girls took care of moving everything into the front seats while the boys set up the back, although this time they also had to set up the air mattress. Amy grabbed the large blanket that they kept under the backseat and passed it to Sweet Pea as he and Fangs climbed in, she and Toni waiting for the boys to be settled to help them in.

They didn't go to sleep right away, all of them happy to just be together, and after a few moments, Amy spoke up.

"I'm going to kill Jennifer Gibson," she told them, matter of fact.

"What do you need from us?" Toni asked immediately. They knew that she was serious and, more importantly, they knew that they'd never make her do it alone.

"I've got my weapons, but I think I'd rather make it look like a suicide. Fangs, you still have that rope?"

"It's in my backpack," he confirmed.

"Perfect. Best plan I've got is to choke her with it and, once she's dead, tie her to… something, I don't know, I'll figure it out when we see the house… then we can leave a chair tipped over, so it looks like she kicked it away. Toni, you remember what you told me about pressure points for knocking people out?"  
"Back of the neck knocks them out instantly," the pink haired girl reminded her.

"Good, great. That's great. Better to have her unconscious so she can't fight back, but blunt trauma could get noticed and then they might realize that it wasn't suicide. Sweets, I'll need your help with the body."

"Always," he promised.

"The Jeep is quieter than the bikes, and a Jeep in a residential neighbourhood is a lot less suspicious than four bikes. I'll have to text one of my contacts in Greendale—probably Sabrina, she knows everything—for the address, but that should be easy enough. And—" Amy was cut off by her phone vibrating. "Mary texted me. Says she needs to call but didn't want to wake me. Hold on."

Amy dialled with one hand, fiddling with her remote with the other.

"Mary? I saw your text, what's up?"

Silence.

"She's what?"

Silence.

"Did you tell- no, of course, that makes sense."

Silence.

"Let him sleep. I'll wake up early and come over before school."

Silence.

"Love you too, see you tomorrow."

Another moment of silence, before Amy put down her phone.

"Well, scratch that. Someone beat me to it. Keller just called the Andrews', apparently a neighbour saw her body through the window. Throat slit."

"And Andrews?" Toni asked.

"She hasn't told him yet. I'm going to bail early tomorrow and head over so I can be there when they tell him. Might miss first period, we'll see. I… I feel sad for him, because I know he'll be devastated, but mostly I just wish that I could have been the one to do it.

Hope you enjoyed chapter 2! This was a hard chapter to write since we have literally no idea what was going on on the Southside during this ep, so I hope you liked my fill in! Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long but also I make no promises because setting a deadline is the single fastest way to jinx myself! That said, feel free (and encouraged) to comment with your thoughts and anything you'd like to see (or not see) in the future!

Also for visuals' sake, the cheerleading uniform is the one from the Vampire Diaries (with the cropped top)


	3. I Can Dance and Play the Part

Geraldine Grundy- Jennifer Gibson is dead, and Amy's day can only go downhill. Between another shooting and Jughead's first day at Southside High, tensions are running high and no one knows what will come next.

Chapter title is from Human by Christina Perri

WARNING: (not-explicit?) sexual content and discussion of underage sex- consensual, but underage nonetheless, and (not that she's realized it yet) Amy has a messed up understanding of sex. Please do not take it to mean that I agree, or even approve, but the reasons will get explored throughout the fic

Also I feel like I should have mentioned this at some point but I imagine that Riverdale is somewhere in New York State or New Jersey- I'm not really sure where exactly, but we know that the Blossoms and Hiram have both had involvement in drug trade shit and with the real world opioid crisis in America, the drugs come primarily from New Jersey, so I sort of imagine that Sweet Water River stems off of the Hudson

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

I Can Dance and Play the Part (If That's What You Ask)

Amy woke up to sunlight streaming through the windows of the Jeep. As she opened her eyes, she found that she had been using Sweet Pea's chest as a pillow, one arm wrapped tightly around his middle and both of his holding her. Looking up, she saw that he was still asleep, although the way he squinted his eyes told her that he'd be up soon. Turning her head, she saw that Fangs was still asleep but that Toni was awake and had her camera out.

"I don't understand you morning people," Amy said, rubbing her eyes.

"Sunrises are the best time to take pictures," Toni replied, lifting her camera to take a picture of Amy's pout. "Now put the pout away and get dressed- you've got to get to the Northside and we have shit to talk about before you go."

"Yes Ma'am—" Amy saluted— "Could you help me wake Sweet Pea though? He's fucking heavy."

Toni smirked, pulling out her phone. "It would be my pleasure," she teased. A moment later the opening riff from Eye of the Tiger blasted through the car, and both boys jolted awake.

"What the shit, Topaz?" Sweet Pea demanded.

"Needed to wake you up," Toni said with a shrug.

"Bitch," he said, smiling fondly.

"Yeah but you love me. Anyways, we've got to talk. I got a text from Lottie that Jughead's first actual day at Southside is today and she was supposed to give him his tour, but she's not going to be at school today so she passed it off to me."

"So Jones is actually coming to Southside… I figured he'd say 'screw it' and stay at Riverdale High," Amy mused.

"Guess not—" Toni shrugged, unconcerned—"but we need to be on the same page about how we're doing this."

"I think… I think we need to offer him our protection," Amy admitted.

"Really, babe?" Fangs asked—he had been so quiet that Amy almost forgot he was awake. "I thought you hated him."

Amy sighed, "I do. But he's FP's son, and he'd want us to look out for him. And more importantly, he's—maybe not a Serpent, but Serpent-Adjacent. People know that, there's no way people don't know that. If we aren't seen as at least offering protection, Ghoulies are going to smell blood in the water and stir up a whole lot of shit that we just don't have the time to deal with right now. No need to be all buddy-buddy or whatever, but offer him protection, invite him to our side of the cafeteria—not our table though—and suggest that he wears the jacket, since I'm entirely sure he won't be. More than anything we need to make sure that whatever happens is on him, not on us, and that even if I hate him, and he hates Serpents, we don't let anyone fuck with him and get away with it."

"You got it, babe," Fangs agreed, the other two nodding along.

"Good, good—now who let me fall asleep with my hearing aids in?" Amy asked, already tired of worrying about the younger Jones.

"I'm pretty sure you were the last one up," Toni told her. It wasn't an entirely uncommon problem, but Sweet Pea usually reminded her.

"Yeah, that's fair," Amy sighed, "but I need to get to the Northside so Sweets, you gotta let go."

"No thanks—" the taller boy smirked, tightening his arm around her. A sharp elbow to the ribs had him letting go with a pout. "Damn, Adams, harsh."

"If you had your way, we'd be here all day. Shit shit shit, how many spare outfits did I have left?"

"I'm pretty sure yesterday was your last," Sweet Pea answered.

"You know what, pants are overrated anyways," Amy decided.

She pulled on the oversized flannel she had worn the morning before, grabbing the black bike shorts she usually wore under her cheerleading uniform and slipping them on too, tightening her usual hip holster and lacing up her boots. "So, how do I look?" she asked, with a twirl.

"Like if you get back in this car, one of us is going to jump you," Fangs told her.

"If I could get out of cleanup I would, but I think Toni would kill me."

With that, the other three climbed out of the car to change too, and Amy started putting away the mattress so that they could return the Jeep to normal. Once it was, they all took their usual seats, and made their way back to the trailer park to grab their bikes.

"Alright, I'll probably miss gym, so someone make up an excuse and text it to me. Not taking my jacket with me now, don't feel like dealing with Northsiders," she added.

Sweet Pea hopped out of the car, crossing over to Amy's side to help her down.  
"Drive safe," Toni told her.

"C'mere, Doll," Sweet Pea mumbled, pulling her in for a hug. "Be safe and text us if anyone gives you any shit. I'll have a coffee for you in English."

"Thanks," she said. One hand wrapped in his hair, she pulled him down and stood on her tip toes to kiss him. "Love you guys, save me a seat and bring in my jacket," she called, waving goodbye as she threw a leg over her bike and took off across town.

"Seeing her in your clothes really does it for you, huh?" Toni teased, when Sweet Pea joined them back in the car.

"And for you," he reminded her, thinking of the time Amy had shown up to the Wyrm in one of Toni's mesh shirts and the girl had turned into a 'blushing mess', as Sweet Pea called her.

"Well yeah, obviously. But—"

"Okay, no need to pull them out and measure them," Fangs interrupted, "we all like seeing her in our clothes as much as she likes wearing them. I mean it's not as easy with you being taller than me," he continued, turning to Sweet Pea, "but I bet I'd like you in my clothes too."

"Doesn't help that anytime she wears my shirts she refuses to wear pants," Sweet Pea added.

"Yeah, and neither of you could fit into anything of mine," Toni agreed.

Across town, Amy pulled to a stop outside of the Andrews' home. After a moment's thought, she decided to park on the far side of Fred's truck, so that people on the street wouldn't see the bike. She didn't really care what anyone thought, but still wanted to do whatever she could to limit the bullshit Archie had to be exposed to, with everything else going on.

She pulled her keys out of her holster, opening the Andrews' door and letting herself in. Kicking off her boots, she saw Mary and Fred sitting in the living room.

"Amy, I'm so glad you were able to come! I know it's going to be hard on him no matter what, but I think having you here will make it a bit easier," Mary greeted, getting up to hug the girl.

"Of course, I'll always be here for him," she promised. "How are you feeling?" she added, crossing the living room to hug Fred as well.

"Better. Not perfect, but better. And you?"

"Oh you know…" She tried to shrug it off, but Fred continued to make eye contact until she opened up. "Okay, so it fucking sucks. I mean, there's a murderer hanging around Riverdale, FP is in jail, I'm pretty sure Tall Boy wants me shipped back off to the Sisters, again, and—"

"What do you mean again?"

"Right I didn't tell you guys… um, back at the beginning of summer, even before Jason died, Mustang pulled some strings or something and I would up back at the Sisters in their 'child rehabilitation' program, which is… just as fucked up as any of their other programs. As soon as FP found out, he got me out and had me sent to a proper rehab—didn't want me around in the aftermath of the Jason shit, but I was there for… ten or so weeks? I don't know, time got funky, July to mid-September or something. Anyways, it doesn't matter."

"What doesn't matter?" Archie asked, coming down the stairs.

"Nothing, Red," Amy assured him quickly. She knew that, with everything that had happened recently, Archie would be sure to fly off the handle if he knew the truth.

"If you say so. What's with the shirt?" Amy recognized the tone of his voice, had long since dubbed it his 'protective big brother' voice, and suddenly remembered that she was wearing nothing but Sweet Pea's shirt.

"Ran out of clean clothes, stole this from Sweet Pea. Toni's probably would have fit better but I'm pretty sure she was out of clean clothes too so…" Archie raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Red, no big deal. It's not like we had some orgy in Sweet's car last night, it's way too awkward to move around back there anyways."

"That's why you couldn't?"

"Hey, reasons are reasons…"

"So," Mary interrupted, knowing how easily the teens could keep the conversation going, "there's actually something that I need to tell you, Arch."

"What's wrong?" He asked, letting Amy guide him to the couch and take a seat in his lap.

"Geraldine Grundy—"

"Jennifer Gibson," Amy corrected immediately.

"Yes, Jennifer Gibson, she was found dead in her home last night, throat slit. Apparently a neighbour saw the body through her window, but no one knows what happened."

"Amy? Did you—" He cut himself off, unable to finish the thought.

"I wish. I mean it, I would have loved to kill her for what she did to you. But no, this wasn't me."

"Okay," the redhead said softly, hugging Amy tighter and hiding his face in her ponytail as he tried not to cry.

Amy shifted in his lap until she could hold him tighter. It wasn't a straddle, like it usually was with Sweet Pea, but she managed to turn so that both of her legs were bent to her chest, her head resting on his chest as she hugged him back.

"Are you going to be able to go to school today?" Mary asked eventually, when the hitching breaths had returned to normal and he had started to loosen his grip.

"I think I should at least try. It might be easier if I'm distracted, and tackling Reggie will definitely help."

Amy laughed, "I can't think of anything that wouldn't be better after tackling that moron," she agreed.

"I'll get breakfast today," Fred offered.

"Are you sure? You're supposed to stay off your feet," Archie reminded him.

"I can make some toast and cut up fruit," he told them, allowing Mary to help him stand.

She and Fred both left the room, knowing that the two teens needed some time alone.

"Are you going to be okay, Red? Like, for real?"

"Probably not today, but I will be. I just… if I stay home today it's all I'll think about, and it'll make it harder to go back, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But eventually?"

"Eventually I'll be okay," he promised. They stayed sitting together for a while, until Fred called them for breakfast.

Amy stood, reluctant to let go of Archie but eager for food. She took her plate eagerly, digging in.

After several minutes of silence, Archie spoke again, "I have to get to practice," he told them.

"I should probably be heading to the Southside anyways—need a lift?" Amy asked.

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all, you can borrow my helmet," she promised.

She laced up her boots while Archie gathered his school supplies, hugging Fred and Mary goodbye as they headed outside.

"Wear this and hold on," she reminded Archie, handing him the black helmet.

"I know the drill," he reminded her.

"Better safe than sorry though." He laughed, following her instructions, and they took off towards Riverdale High.

"Text or call me if you need me," she demanded, hugging him. "I'm going to make some calls and see if anyone knows anything."

"Thanks, Ames."

"Be safe, love you," she called, waving goodbye.

"You too!" He called back, jogging towards the school.

Once she was out of sight, she opened her Facebook Messenger app.

 **Snake Bitch:** _Hey Sabrina- pedophile named Jennifer Gibson (or Geraldine Grundy idk which name she was using) was murdered in Greendale last night. Lmk if you know anything_

 **Witchy Bitch:** _haven't heard anything but I'll keep an ear out_

 **Snake Bitch:** _thanks_

Satisfied that she would hear from Sabrina if she did know anything, Amy drove to the prison.

"I'm here to see Forsythe Jones," she told the guard.

"Name and ID," he demanded.

"Amethyst Adams," she said, handing over her driver's licence.

"Go ahead," he waved her on.

"My king," she greeted, picking up the phone.

"Cut it out, Amethyst," FP laughed, "shouldn't you be in school?"

"Things came up. You ever heard of a Jennifer Gibson? Or Geraldine Grundy, whatever, I don't even know anymore…"

"Never heard of a Gibson, but Grundy sounds familiar…"

"She was a fake music teacher at Riverdale, manipulated and raped Red time and time again."

"And you want to be sure that we don't know her so there won't be any consequences for you?"

"Nope, she was murdered last night. Maybe by the same person who shot Fred, but no one knows. Gotta rule out any Serpents before some fucking Northsider tries to blame us for all of their problems."

FP nodded. "Good thinking. As far as I know, no, none of ours would know her. You'll ask around next time you're at the Wyrm though."

"Of course," Amy agreed.

"Good girl. Now, how's Freddie Andrews?"

"He's… okay. He's definitely not back to normal but he's getting better, and Mary is handling a lot of his usual work so that he can focus on resting. I don't think he was thrilled with my outfit of the day, but he took it better than Red."

"You haven't told them about—"

"You want to try to explain to Mr. All-American that I'm in a relationship with two boys and a girl? I wouldn't even know how to explain the whole queerplatonic thing, let alone the fact that there's also sex and initiations and in theory we can also date people who aren't each other!"

FP chuckled. "You have a point. I actually meant the part where you guys spend almost every night sleeping in a car and that Sweet Pea needs to wait for his mom to go to work if he wants to get you spare clothes from your drawer at his place because you refuse to commit to having anywhere that you consider home."

"Wow, way to tear down all of my walls, FP. I mean… you're not wrong, but really? And yeah, I'm not exactly planning to tell them that, the last thing Fred needs is something else to worry about right now."

"As your legal guardian, he does have the right to know."

She sighed loudly. "Fine. I'll tell him soon," she promised.

"That's my girl." FP smiled fondly. "Now, fill me in on everything else that I've missed."

Amy leaned back in her chair. "Get comfortable, there's a lot to say."

It was well over an hour later when Amy finished filling him in on everything that had happened since she last visited. He had sent her off to get to school, and she eventually agreed, signing out of the prison and climbing back on her bike, making her way to Southside High.

She pulled in to her usual spot by the maintenance door, parking between Sweet Pea and Toni's bikes. Checking the time on her phone, she saw that first period would be ending soon, and opened her chat with Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs.

 **Too Gay For This Shit** (Amy) **:** _has baby jones shown up yet_

 **Gem** (Toni) **:** _not yet- asshole stood me up. gonna stop by the main doors before next class just in case_

 **De(sin)gnated Driver** (Sweet Pea) **:** _me n fangs will save your seats in English_

Amy was about to put her phone away when another message showed up on her screen, this one from Archie.

 **Red:** _hey ames_

 _there was another shooting last night, moose is in the hospital_

 **Ames:** _shit red I'm so sorry- you okay?_

 **Red:** _uh…. I'll be okay. Gotta go now, no phones in the hospital, ily_

 **Ames:** _alright- be safe, ily_

Finally she opened her last message, unexpectedly from Veronica.

 **Veronica Lodge:** _Hey Amy. Archie probably already told you, but one of his friends is in the hospital. I'm having the squad over tonight for the Matchelorette premier and I think he'd be really happy to see you- you in?_

 **Amy Adams:** _Never watched it, but I'm in. Text me the address later?_

Satisfied that she had dealt with everything, although still surprised to have been invited over to Veronica's, Amy finally tucked her phone back into her holster, certain that Sweet Pea would have her backpack and jacket waiting in their next class.

She snuck through the side door and into the hallway, quickly making her way to her next classroom while trying to avoid any Ghoulies.

She slipped into the room just before the bell rang, sliding into her usual seat between Fangs and Sweet Pea, greeting them each with a chaste kiss.

"Any sign of Toni?" she asked.

"Not yet, which probably means that Jones showed up," Sweet Pea told her, "but I've got your jacket, your backpack, and a coffee."

"Oh thank god, you're the best," she thanked him, taking the items. She took a long sip of the—now lukewarm—coffee. "Oh my god is that vanilla? Sweets, did you actually go to fucking Dunkins to get me my favourite coffee?" The nearest Dunkin Donuts was pretty much in the middle of the Northside, and Sweet Pea absolutely hated driving there, but Amy loved the vanilla lattes.

"You've had a rough few days," he shrugged, fighting off a blush.

"God I love you," Amy said, leaning against him as best she could without leaving her chair.

"Love you too, Doll."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Fangs interrupted, laughing.

"I love you too," Amy promised.

Fangs opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when he saw Toni walk in with Jughead, heading straight for their row. Jughead took a seat in the front row, but Toni took her usual seat in the empty chair between Amy and Fangs.

Amy could feel, more than see, the way that Sweet Pea tensed up as class began. All four of them got bad vibes from their teacher, but he had also always been particularly condescending and dismissive towards Sweet Pea.

He began the lesson, and Amy scoffed when she saw that Jughead was actually taking notes. Instead of commenting, she focused her attention on trying to keep Sweet Pea calm, wrapping a hand around his bicep and, when the teacher looked away, moving to sit in his lap.

"Hey Sweets," she whispered, "just ignore him, yeah? It's just you and me, forget about the rest of this bullshit." She could feel him starting to relax, and pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. "Make it through the period without snapping and I'll owe you one," she promised.

"My choice?" He asked, just as quietly.

"Your choice. Anything."

"Wanna… I want to make you fall apart," he said after a moment.

"Tonight," Amy agreed immediately, "just focus on that and not on this asshole."

They made it through the rest of the class with no problem, separating from the other three to head to their various next classes.

"Want to bail?" Amy asked, right before she and Sweet Pea would have to part ways.

"With you? Always." Amy beamed up at him, immediately dragging him towards the nearest storage closet.

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _Stealing our boy for an hour, see you in chem 3_

The four had a basic policy of always informing each other of their hook ups or dates, within or outside of the group, so Amy put away her phone and locked the door.

"So is this a fun skip or a serious skip?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Bit of both? Can you just… I don't know… this is going to sound stupid but can you just hold me for a bit? Before the sexy times?"

"Of course, Doll. That doesn't sound stupid at all," he was quick to assure her, pulling her into a tight hug. Amy lifted her legs to wrap them around his waist, letting him support her fully.

"FP thinks that I should tell Fred about the whole living out of the trunk of a Jeep thing," she said, after several minutes of silence.

"He doesn't know?"

"Last he heard I was living in a trailer and sometimes we'd have sleepovers in the Jeep. Then I wound up at the Sisters for however long that was, which I only told him about today, then rehab, then fucking Jughead decided to actually live in the stupid trailer and now I'm technically homeless and apparently my legal guardian should know that but he's recovering from being shot and there's no way he can handle more to worry about let alone having another teenager living under his roof."

"Maybe it's for the best though—not to move in with them or anything, unless that's what you want—but for him to know. He's your guardian, so if anything happened and it was found out that he didn't know where you were living, he could be declared an unfit guardian."

"Fuck, I never thought about that… Okay, I'll consider it. I did mention that we had a sleepover last night, but I'm pretty sure that Archie thought that was code for an orgy…"

"It's way too awkward to move around in the trunk though," Sweet Pea protested.

"That's what I said! Anyways, enough about that, I believe that you made some promises about making me fall apart?"

"I thought that was for tonight?"

"Oh, right, I didn't tell you guys- I got invited to Veronica Lodge's tonight to watch some dating show. Apparently she thought Archie would be happier having me around—I'll fill you guys in on that mess at lunch—so I agreed."

"Need a ride?"

"Always, but not the kind you mean. She sent me the address last period and told me she could have her chauffer—she has a fucking chauffer—pick me up."

"And about that other type of ride?"  
"Seeing me in your clothes really appeals to those caveman instincts, don't they?" Amy teased. "Not sure we have time for that—actually I don't think there's time for you to make me fall apart either, but I did say I owe you one, so—"

"You sure?" Sweet Pea asked.

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't, Sweets. I mean yeah, I don't have that whole sexual attraction thing, but I like making you feel good, and you make me feel safe. You can pay me back later, if you want, get me ready for that ride."

Sweet Pea smirked. "I always want," he agreed, carefully setting her down. "As long as I get to make you fall apart tomorrow, it's not fair otherwise." Amy nodded complacently, so he wrapped one hand in her ponytail, cupping her jaw with the other, and gave her a quick kiss before she dropped to her knees.

Half an hour, a blowjob, and several hickeys later, they left the closet and made their way to the chemistry classroom

"Love you," Amy murmured, closing the closet door behind them.

"Love you too," Sweet Pea returned, a promise, more than anything.

Toni and Fangs had reached the class before them, though thankfully without Jughead.

"Looks like you two had fun," Toni said, eyeing the collection of hickeys that trailed from Amy's neck to her collarbone and under the shirt.

"That's one word for it," Amy agreed, licking her lips suggestively.

"Put that tongue away unless you're planning on using it," Fangs told her.

"I already did, but I can pencil you in for later."

"Sounds good- lunch?"

"Can't. I've got practice and then I need to give you guys some Northside updates."

Class started before any of them could ask what she meant. They weren't doing any lab work, so she grabbed her phone to text Kevin.

 **Joaquin's Girl:** _hey keller- scored an invite to Chez Lodge tonight, is there some sort of dress code I should know about? Cause I'll warn you now, I'm fresh out of clean clothes._

 **Joaquin's Boy:** _no dress code but you should totally come early and we can play dressup with Ronnie, she definitely won't mind_

 **Joaquin's Girl:** _sounds… kind of terrifying tbh… I'm in- guessing I should leave the jacket behind tho?_

 **Joaquin's Boy:** _yeah def- I'll start a chat with Ronnie so we can make a plan, but for sure NO JACKET_

 **Joaquin's Girl:** _lmao sir yes sir (or was that more joaquin's title ;) )_

 **Joaquin's Boy:** _…..no comment….._

 **Joaquin's Girl:** _DAMN KELLER_

Rather than reply, Amy saw that Kevin had indeed started a chat with Veronica.

 **Kevin Keller:** _SOS Ronnie fashion emergency- Amy's never been to a northside party b4- can we come over early to doll her up?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _OMG of course! I've got some clothes that would look *amazing* on you Amy! I've got vixens til 4:30 so I'll have Smithers pick you up from the Wyrm at 5:00?_

 **Amy Adams:** _tell him to park behind the dumpsters and I'll meet him there_

 _A chauffer and a limo would draw a shitton of attention_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _Got it!_

Amy turned off her phone, trying to figure out what on earth had just happened- is this what friendships were like on the Northside? Dress up and chauffeurs? She was so focused on that, that she missed the bell, and Sweet Pea had to shake her shoulder to get her attention.

"Come on, Doll, class is over."

"Right, of course… Ready for practice, T?"

"I'm going to be giving Jones a tour, but the duffle is in our usual locker."

"Roger that- remember, invite him to sit on our side of the caf but not at our table."

"I know," the taller girl promised.

Sweet Pea walked Amy to the locker room while Toni went to meet Jughead, Fangs following close behind in case of any trouble with Ghoulies.

"Hearing aids, Doll," Sweet Pea reminded her.

"Oh fuck shit you're right, one sec."

Amy removed her blue hearing aids, putting them away in their usual small case and handing them to Sweet Pea. She couldn't cheer with them in, the last time she had tried a flip they got tangled up in her hair and she had to stop, but she didn't trust that no one would try to steal them, so Sweet Pea always kept them in his jacket pocket while she was busy.

Practice only lasted for half an hour during lunch, just a time to run drills on days that they didn't have a real practice, so soon Amy was changed and walking to the cafeteria with the rest of the cheerleading team.

Walking into the cafeteria, the first thing that Amy noticed was that Jughead was sitting alone, followed immediately by the fact that, as she had predicted, he wasn't wearing his jacket.

"Excuse me," she bit out, splitting off from her teammates. "Sitting alone, Jones? Didn't Toni tell you to sit on our side of the caf?"

"I'm more of a lone wolf," he returned, not looking up from his book.

Amy planted her hands on the table, leaning forward slightly. "Look, Jones, I don't like you, you don't like me, whatever. But you need us. Everyone knows who your dad is, and if the Ghoulies think you're alone they'll come after you. Stay on your high horse, don't stay on your high horse, I don't really care, but if you don't want to die, wear the fucking jacket and sit with us at school." With that, Amy stood straight and marched across the room, immediately taking the hearing aids that Sweet Pea was holding out.

"Thanks, Sweets. God, he's such a bitch."

"I tried," Toni told her, "but I guess he'd rather be killed."

"Well, fine. That's his problem. But if the Ghoulies take it out on us, I'm taking it out on him."

"Hot," Fangs was quick to taunt. "So you were going to fill us in on some Northside shit?"

"Right, yes, I was. So first of all, I'm apparently going to the Lodge's tonight because Veronica thinks that Archie needs it—which I'll fill you in on in a sec—so she's going to have her chauffer pick me up by the Wyrm at 5:00. I don't know exactly when I'll be back but I'll send updates and let you know if there are any problems, and I'll meet you guys back at the Wyrm when we're done."

"Look at you, making friends with Northsiders," Toni laughed, "so what happened to Andrews?"

"Turns out a boy on his football team was shot in the forest last night- dove in front of his girl to protect her, or something. I don't know the details but Red is super shaken up about it."

"That's rough… You'll tell us when you know more though, right?"

"Obviously, Fangs."

"I was just asking," Fangs said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Yeah, that's fair. You boys might need to cash in your IOUs tomorrow instead, depending on how shit goes though. Keller invited the two of us over early so that they can play dress up with me—is that a Northside thing? Like, do people actually do that?"

Toni shrugged, "I thought it was just in movies."

"So did I!" Amy agreed. She accepted the apple that Sweet Pea passed her, taking a bite instead of continuing the conversation.

Amy napped through Spanish class, spent history playing on her phone, and finished her project in art class, spending the entire time worrying about what to expect of a night with only Northsiders. When the day finally did end, the quartet met up at their bikes and returned to the trailer park, hiding the bikes and taking the Jeep over to the Wyrm.

"Damn, Adams, nice hickeys," Ricky shouted from the pool table where he was getting his ass kicked by Tall Boy.

"Thanks!" Sweet Pea called back, earning quite a few catcalls from the various Serpents in the bar.

Amy wasn't working, so instead she sat at the bar, working through her homework before she would have to leave. Shortly before she was expecting to be picked up, she made her way to the bathroom to touch her makeup up. She knew that Kevin and Veronica wanted to play dress up, but she saw no reason to let her guard down, and quickly set to work reapplying her dark lipstick and eyeliner, her own personal war paint. Once she was done, she tossed her jacket over to Sweet Pea, tightened her ponytail, and walked straight to the dumpsters, surprised to see that the black limo was already waiting for her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Adams. Are you ready to go?"

Double checking that she had everything she needed in her holster—phone, knife, keys, and makeup—she nodded. He opened the door for her and she slid in, trying not to show her absolute awe. The car ride passed in complete silence, something extremely unusual for her, and soon they were pulling into the Pembrooke—the Pembrooke!

She walked into the lobby, wishing that she had her jacket to shield herself with, and tried not to let out an actual sigh of relief when she saw Kevin and Veronica sitting in the plush armchairs.

"Hey girl," Veronica greeted as soon as she saw her, both Northsiders crossing over to her immediately.

"Hey… So, nice place you've got here," Amy said, hoping that she didn't sound as nervous as she actually was.

"It's not quite what we had in New York, but it's the only property that was in my mom's name," Veronica explained.

"Not quite what you had in New York? Did you live in an actual mansion?"

Kevin laughed, "Right?! Imagine thinking that this is lowballing it."

Amy was relieved that Veronica laughed along, and started to relax. She was led to an elevator and into the Lodge's apartment.

"Holy shit," she said, jaw dropping.

"So my room is over this way," Veronica started, giving her a quick tour on their way to the walk-in closet.

"Alright, so what are we thinking?" Kevin asked. "I know the whole black leather thing is your thing, but I doubt Ronnie has anything that fits that criteria."

Amy shrugged, "I mean, I'm fine with whatever, I guess? Nothing too outlandish, but I'm pretty sure Sweet Pea's old flannel isn't exactly Pembrooke-appropriate."

"Definitely not, especially around my parents," Veronica agreed, "I already pulled some items to start with and then depending on what you like—or don't like—we can figure something out."

True to her word, Veronica had laid out a few options, which Amy looked over critically.

"Wow, you really went all out," she said.

"We don't get to do this nearly enough," Kevin told her.

"He's right," Veronica nodded, "promise this won't be the only time we get to play dress up with you?"

"Depends on how you do," Amy shrugged.

Veronica laughed, a surprisingly genuine sound, and after a brief hesitation, Amy joined her. It was strange, she thought, having a girl friend. Of course she had Toni, who she could be completely free around, and she was friendly with Lottie and most of the other Serpent girls under thirty, but every moment with them had to be so calculated—scripted, even—and it was exhausting. Even sex had to be careful, she couldn't risk being vulnerable with anyone other than Toni, Fangs, and, of course, Sweet Pea. Seeing Veronica clam up, having clearly realized how unguarded she was being, Amy realized that she might have more in common with the rich girl than she could have ever imagined.

Kevin, who had been looking at the clothes, suddenly spoke, "I've got it!"

"Show me," Amy said, looking away from Veronica.

"Okay so I'm thinking; this skirt—" he held up a short black circle skirt— "this top—" he held up a lacy white bandeau—"and tie the flannel around your waist."

"Around my waist like I'm still wearing it or like it's hanging down?" Amy asked, considering the idea.

"Up to you."

"I think it would look great hanging down but Red might have a heart attack if I did," she laughed.

"Why's that?" Veronica asked.

"Well, you know…" Amy trailed off, slipping the flannel off of one shoulder so that they could see the trail of hickeys that disappeared under her bra.

"Damn girl," Kevin chuckled, "where did you get those?"

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell," she teased.

"Since when are you a lady?"

"Touché, Keller, touché. You know what, I really like this look. Let's give it a try."

Amy slid the skirt up under the flannel, glad that she had thought to wear shorts underneath, and replaced her bra with the bandeau, tying the flannel in a loose knot around her waist.

"So, how great do I look?" Amy asked, spinning in a circle for the Northsiders to assess.

"Magnifique," Veronica told her, "Kev, your style is perfect as ever."

"Of course it is. So, Amy, think you'll let us do this again?" He asked.

"Oh, absolutely. I'm not about to trade in my usual look to turn all Northsider, but exceptions can be made for special circumstances."

"Of course. You can't wear a ballgown to a biker bar, after all," Veronica agreed.

"Right, exactly. So anyways, when are the others supposed to be getting here?"

Kevin checked his watch. "Twenty to thirty minutes?"

"Anyone up for some Secrets and Sins while we wait?" Veronica asked.

"Is that some weird New York thing? I've literally never heard of it," Amy told her.

"It's something my mom and her friends used to play in high school, apparently. We played it at Jughead's birthday party last year too. I guess it's just a Northside thing. It's kind of like truth or dare but without the dares, just sharing deep secrets and revealing personal sins."

"So basically it's truth or dare without dares or questions?"

Kevin paused. "Yeah, pretty much. You can ask questions though," he said eventually.

"Well, cool, I'm in," she agreed, confident that neither knew her well enough to know if she was keeping things to herself.

"Well in that case, shall we relocate to the living room?"

Amy and Kevin followed her, claiming the two chairs facing each other, while Veronica settled on the chaise.

"Me first," Kevin declared. "Amy, where did you get those hickeys?"

"Oh, they go all the way down," she told him, deliberately evading his question. "If you must know, first floor storage closet at Southside High."

"You know that's not what I meant," he complained.

"I know." Amy smirked at him before turning to Veronica, "So, Holly Golightly. Who would you rather fuck, Sheriff Keller or Fred Andrews?"

"Oh that's a hard one. I think I have to go with Mr. Andrews, find out if Archiekins takes after him or just got lucky. Hopefully he takes after him or I might regret not choosing Sheriff Keller though…"

"Gross, Ronnie, that's my dad!"

"Yeah, and he's hot," Amy shrugged, "I mean, objectively at least, he's not really my type. If you take after your dad in looks though, you should be set for life." She chose not to mention that Fred was basically her dad, deciding that they really didn't need to know that.

Veronica clapped. "My question now! Kev, what's the wildest thing you and Joaquin ever tried in bed?"

Kevin blushed, looking away for a moment before answering. "We stole my dad's handcuffs a few times," he admitted.

"That kinky son of a bitch," Amy muttered fondly.

"Speaking of kinky sons of bitches, who did you get those hickeys from?" Kevin asked her.

"Sweet Pea," Amy told them easily. "He's a bit of a caveman but his mouth is—god—at least as good as Joaquin's. Different specialties though, so I can't really compare."

"Wait, hold on—" Veronica interrupted—"You and Joaquin?"

"Still my turn," Amy reminded her, "but what the hell. Yeah, me and Joaquin. Mostly making out. Anyways, Kev, obviously you and Joaquin got up to some kinky shit, but is he the only one you've tried that stuff with?"

"Full disclosure, I'd made out with guys before, but he's the first guy I actually slept with, so yeah, he is." Amy nodded easily, unsurprised but filing the information away nonetheless. "So Ronnie, would you ever have a threesome?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Pro tip," Amy offered, "if a guy expects you to have a threesome with he and another girl, but won't even consider one with another boy, he almost definitely only cares about his own pleasure, not yours. Not to say that you should feel obligated to do one or the other, but from my experience, and what I've heard, that tends to be a red flag."

"Hold on- your experience? Who have you had threesomes with?"

"I guess it is your turn… Well let's see… Toni and Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangs, Fangs and Sweet Pea… Fangs and Joaquin once—now that was an interesting experience…" Amy trailed off, noticing the looks of shock on the Northsiders' faces. "Anyways… Veronica, what's the kinkiest fantasy you've had?"

"Dominatrix Betty," she replied immediately, before turning a deep red. "Can we—can we pretend I didn't answer that so quickly? Look, you guys didn't see Betty's black lace getup earlier this year, but it was something else. Kev, which one of you got handcuffed?"

"Me… every time. Joaquin likes being in charge." Amy nodded in agreement, regretting it when Kevin turned to her. "So, how old were you when you lost your virginity?"

"Does oral count?" She asked.

"How about both?"

"Fine. Thirteen for both—oral was when I was just barely thirteen, actual sex was when I was almost fourteen."

"Hold on, what?" A new voice interrupted.

"Red? When did you guys get here?" Amy asked nervously, eyes darting to Jughead.

"Just in time to hear Kev's last question. But really, thirteen? And where did you get those hickeys?" He added, as her collar slipped down slightly.

"Relax, Red—my body my business, remember? Anyways, how are you holding up with the latest shooting?"

Archie sighed loudly, sitting down beside Veronica. *"It's like nobody cares," he said, "dad keeps saying 'leave it to Sheriff Keller' and I'm like 'yeah, he did a great job of catching Jason's murderer,' oh. Wait, I'm sorry, that was us."*

"Maybe if every single person in this town wasn't trying to hide something to save face, he would have had an easier time of it," Amy countered.

"You're defending the cops?" Archie asked incredulously, all too familiar with Amy's hatred of the legal system, especially after the time she had been forced to spend in an orphanage since she 'didn't have a legal guardian and an eight year old can't be left alone.'

"I mean I'd appreciate it if he stopped arresting us as scapegoats all the time, or even if he'd stop shoving me into walls when he did, but even I can't blame him this time."

"That's an interesting way of looking at it," a deep voice said. Amy turned, clenching her fists when she saw that it was Hiram Lodge who had spoken.

"Daddy," Veronica greeted.

"We're just heading out for dinner, but I wanted to meet your friends, first."

"This is Kevin Keller, Betty Cooper," Veronica started, giving them a moment to shake hands, "and Jughead Jones."

"You know my dad," Jughead said, forgoing an actual greeting.

"I do. He's a good man, values family—"

"Even when his family doesn't value him," Amy interrupted, glaring at Jughead.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Oh I don't know, that you decided you would rather live in the Drive-In or a school closet than live with FP?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"You want to fucking bet?" Amy demanded. "I would have given anything for him to be my father, and you threw him aside as soon as it was convenient, and only came crawling back when you needed something."

"Guys," Veronica cut in, "my parents don't need to miss their reservation because of Jughead's daddy issues. So dad, this is Ameth—"

"—Amy Adams," Amy corrected. "So you're the one hiring FP to do your dirty work and then letting him take the fall. Oh, and hiring thugs to trash Fred's equipment and assault a teenage boy."

"Excuse me?" Hiram asked.

"I visit FP daily, he's filled me in. I'd say the pleasure is mine but it really isn't."

"Right, anyways," Veronica laughed nervously, *"daddy, this is Archie Andrews."

"The boy who's captured my daughter's heart."

"Daddy," Veronica warned.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you, sir."

"Ah, please. Call me Hiram. I couldn't help but overhear your discussion and I, um, I understand your frustration with Sheriff Keller. As someone who's had his own share of run-ins with the law," he chuckled, "I can say that the police aren't always the solution. Sometimes we need to take matters into our own hands."*

"Wow, bold words from someone who was actually guilty," Amy scoffed. "As someone who has been arrested and been innocent, I say let him do his job and stop encouraging teenagers to become vigilantes."

*"We're going to lose our table," Hermione interrupted.

"Oh, yes, of course. Hey, it was nice to meet all of you. Oh, and Archie?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you come over for dinner this week. I look forward to seeing what you come up with to save Riverdale."*

With that, Hiram and Hermione left, and Amy finally unclenched her fists; her grip had been so tight that her nails had broken skin, so she wiped the droplets of blood onto her skirt and hoped that no one had noticed.

"So, um, no one told me that he'd be here." Amy forced a laugh before taking a quick swig from the water bottle she had taken from her holster.

"Ames?" Archie asked, eyeing the bottle. He switched to sign language, hoping that she would be more honest if the others couldn't understand her, _"what's in there?"_

" _Relax, Red, it's just water,"_ she signed back, hoping that he wouldn't ask for a taste. Archie's heart swelled when she used her childhood nickname for him— signing "red" over her heart.

Archie looked doubtful, but decided not to ask. He would talk to Amy later, he told himself, knowing that if he pushed in public she would shut him out completely. While she was often more honest in ASL, he realized she might not want to draw attention to her hearing loss.

"So," Kevin spoke up, "Matchelorette?"

"Yes!" Veronica agreed quickly, "it should be starting in just a few minutes so I'll get the popcorn started."

"I can help," Amy offered, following Veronica into the kitchen.

"I'll get drinks," Kevin said, joining the two girls before anyone could object.

"I'm…" Amy sighed. "I'm sorry you two had to deal with that. My issues with Jughead shouldn't be your problem."

"It's fine," Veronica assured her, "but, the stuff you said about my dad? Is that true? Did he hire people to jump Moose?"

"I think so. FP told me that they were hired thugs from Montreal, so we all assume it was your dad's doing. From what FP's told me, your dad is pretty pissed that your mom gave Fred the contract, so it wouldn't surprise me if he was hoping to destroy the equipment so that she'd need to hire someone else, and Moose probably just happened to be in the way…"

As she spoke, Amy had poured kernels into the pot that Veronica offered her. She'd never had real, homemade popcorn before, but she'd been cooking since before she could read, so she claimed the stove as her territory and got to work.

"Hey Amy—" Kevin called from where he was digging through the fridge, "what do you want to drink?"

"I take it whiskey's not an option?"

"Probably not tonight," Veronica agreed.

"Fine… Coffee?"

"Now that I can do," Kevin told her. "What kind?"

"What do you mean?"

"Our machine can do just about anything," Veronica explained, "coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, americanos, and lots of flavours too."

"Vanilla cappuccino?" Amy asked.

"Coming right up," Kevin promised.

"Thanks! Veronica, can you grab bowls for me?"

"Here you go," Veronica said, handing her three bowls.

Amy divided the popcorn, adding salt and melted butter, balancing the three bowls while Kevin and Veronica handled drinks. When they returned to the living room, Jughead and Betty had taken Kevin's seat, and Veronica and Archie had the chaise, so Amy and Kevin wound up sharing the loveseat that Amy had been occupying before.

"Here you go," Kevin said, passing Amy her mug.

"Thanks." She took a sip, slowly relaxing into the soft cushions. Once the show started, she pulled out her phone, opening her chat with her partners.

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _Northsiders are fucking wild jfc, the Lodge's coffee machine looks like rocket science_

 **De(sin)gnated Driver:** _Do you really need more coffee, Doll?_

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _I mean if they expect me to stay awake for this… whatever the fuck this is_

 **Gem:** _matchelorette not your thing?_

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _my name says it all tbh... at least Keller likes to make fun of everyone on the show even if VL is giving us dirty looks for it_

 _And not the fun kind of dirty_

 **De(sin)gnated Driver:** _save the horniness for us doll- you need a lift back?_

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _VL said she could get her chauffer to drive me home, don't want you guys getting tangled up with hiram, I'm 100% sure he's pure evil_

 **De(sin)gnated Driver:** _you're probably right… want us to wait for you the Wyrm?_

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _Please 3_

Amy made it through the rest of the show, whispering scathing comments with Kevin while they threw popcorn at each other. The episode wrapped up soon enough, although not soon enough for Amy's taste, and she stood.

"Alright, I should be heading home soon. Is there somewhere I should leave the clothes?"

Veronica looked at her, confused, "You can keep them!"

"Wait what?"

"Honestly I was never going to wear them, and you look great. Go impress your boy," she teased.

"My boy?" Amy asked, not needing to fake her confusion.

"The tall one from the hospital, calls you doll, gave you those hickeys?" Kevin explained.

"Sweet Pea? He's not—I mean, we're not—I mean… he's my boy but not like, my boy? You know?"

"So you aren't dating him?" Archie asked, having been listening in from the couch.

Amy stared at them blankly. "No? We're… We're ride or die," she explained finally.

"What does that mean?" Jughead asked, trying to seem less curious than he was.

"None of your business, Jones. Anyways, Holly Golightly, think your chauffer can get me back to the Wyrm?"

"Absolutely! I'll have him get the car ready now," Veronica agreed, using the landline to dial the lobby. "He should be ready in less than five minutes if you want to head down."

"Thanks! Bye Keller! Red, I'll try to stop by tomorrow, but text me if you need me."

"I will, Ames, love you."

"Love you too," she called over her shoulder, heading into the elevator.

She stayed silent in the car, unwilling to provide any information to someone on Hiram's payroll, and soon enough they reached the Wyrm. She exited the car with a polite thank you, before shoving the door open and heading straight to where Sweet Pea and Fangs were sitting at the bar, climbing into Sweet Pea's lap without hesitation.

"Do you want to leave now or hang around for a while?" He asked immediately, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Leave. Please," she added, resting her head on his chest, "I need it to be just us for a bit."

"Of course, Doll," he agreed. "Fangs, can you grab Toni, I'm going to get Amy into the car."

Fangs nodded, already heading to the pool table where Toni and Lottie were just about to start another round.

Meanwhile, Sweet Pea stood carefully, adjusting his grip on Amy until he was carrying her, leaving the Wyrm and buckling her into the passenger seat of the Jeep. Their bikes were already tucked away, so that was one less thing to worry about, and he focused his attention on the exhausted girl in his car.

Fangs and Toni left the bar soon after, climbing into the backseat, and Sweet Pea took off before they had finished buckling their seatbelts.

"Doll? We're here," Sweet Pea said gently, parking the car in the shade of their usual tree.

Amy didn't move, having fallen asleep to the familiar hum of the Jeep, so Toni dressed her in her flannel pyjamas, and Sweet Pea carried her to the trunk after he and Fangs had finished setting up the mattress. He set her down carefully before climbing in, removing her hearing aids and putting them in their case before wrapping his arms around her.

Despite being the first one to fall asleep, Amy was also the last to wake up the next morning. She opened her eyes slowly, seeing the other three getting dressed—a difficult task in such a small space, made harder by the fact that none of them wanted to disturb the sleeping girl.

"Mornin'" she drawled, stretching her arms as best as she could in the limited space.

"Hey Doll, how are you feeling?" Sweet Pea asked, signing along before passing over her hearing aids.

The three Serpents had taught themselves sign language as soon as they found out about Amy's hearing loss, though they mostly used it when she wasn't wearing her hearing aids or when they didn't want anyone else to know what they were saying.

Amy stayed silent for a moment, unsure of how to answer. "Better," she said eventually, "Not great, but better. I really needed that sleep."

"How was the Northside party?" Fangs asked, having just stepped out of the trunk to slide up his pants.

"Exhausting. I mean, Keller and Veronica are surprisingly fun to be around, but god I'm so tired of Jones' bullshit. And Hiram fucking Lodge was there, so—"

"Hiram Lodge was there?" Toni cut in, "Did he try any shit?"

"Well I'm pretty sure he wants Archie to become some sort of teen vigilante, and kept talking about how we can't trust the cops which… I mean you guys know that I hate them, but Hiram is actually a criminal, so I'm pretty sure his opinion shouldn't count?"

"Are you for real?" Toni rolled her eyes, "What a fucking hypocrite, honestly."

"Oh god I know," Amy groaned, "but I think that Red is actually listening to him? Sweets, if he ever becomes a vigilante and starts fucking around on this side of town, feel free to kick his ass, just don't turn it into some fucking turf war."

"As you wish," he agreed.

"Can we watch Princess Bride tonight?" Amy asked, mostly directing the question to Fangs.

"Sure we can," he agreed easily. All four of them loved the movie, and it was their go-to when any of them was having a bad day.

"You're the best," she told him, sliding to the edge of the trunk to kiss him.

"Alright, break it up," Toni called, when the quick peck turned into a much deeper kiss, "Amy isn't even dressed."

"I'm not?" Amy looked down, realizing for the first time that she wasn't in the clothes she had been wearing when she got to the Wyrm. "When did that happen?"

"I changed you last night," Toni explained, "here you go." She tossed the shorter girl her outfit from the night before.

"We'll have to do laundry today," Amy decided as she changed.

"We should," Fangs agreed, "but you do have clean clothes at mine."

"Oh yeah… Forgot about that," Amy shrugged. "That works too though, less effort."

"Doll," Sweet Pea called, holding out her glasses case.

"Do I have to?"

"You don't have to, but you should. You fell asleep with your contacts in last night," he reminded her.

"I hate wearing my glasses around people," she complained.

He raised an eyebrow, watching her as she tried to decide whether to betray a weakness like needing glasses or whether to suffer from dry contacts. With a loud sigh, she started to remove her contacts, and accepted the black rimmed glasses.

"So, school?" Sweet Pea asked eventually.

"I mean we probably should. I want to see is Jones continues with his 'lone wolf' bullshit."

Toni and Fangs nodded in agreement, and the four rearranged the car quickly. As usual, Sweet Pea parked outside of the Wyrm so that they could take their bikes to school. They snuck in the side door, heading to the locker rooms for first period gym class. The boys grabbed their gym shorts and sneakers from Amy's duffle before they split off, and Amy passed Toni her favourite shorts and a black mesh tank top, digging through the bag for her sneakers, before she realized that she didn't have her own gym clothes. She wound up trading the bandeau for her usual black lace bra and pulled on one of Sweet Pea's spare shirts, eventually deciding to just wear the bike shorts that she had under her skirt, though the shirt was long enough to hide them. She did, thankfully, have her sneakers for cheer practice, so she laced those up before finally locking her bags away, meeting the boys in the gym.

Unlike most, the four were thrilled to have a circuit day, since it allowed them to take it easy and talk, unlike days where their teacher was sober enough to organize some sort of sport game. After an hour of half-hearted laps, pushups, and sit ups, they could finally get dressed in their usual clothes, making their way to English class.

Sweet Pea took his usual seat by the window, with Amy beside him, Toni and Fangs on her other side. When Jughead entered the room, he felt Amy stiffen from where she was leaning against his arm, and clenched his fists. He was okay, for a while, until class actually began. When he saw the way Jughead was sucking up to Mr. Phillips, the way he was eating it up and looking at the rest of them like they were scum—more so than usual, that is—he snapped. He stood abruptly, letting his chair hit the floor, and stormed out of the classroom.

"I've got this," Amy assured the other two, "We'll see you later, okay? Love you."

She stood as well, grabbing their bags and following Sweet Pea out of the classroom. She went straight for the maintenance door, knowing that Sweet Pea would be waiting for her by the bikes.

"Hey, Sweets," she greeted softly, passing him his bag. "Want to get out of here?"

He nodded, not quite trusting his voice, and the two kicked off and went straight to the Wyrm, not needing words to be on the same page about what was going to happen. They parked behind FP's trailer, as always, and climbed into the Jeep.

"Where do you want to go?" Sweet Pea asked at last.

"Anywhere. Doesn't matter as long as you're with me."

Sweet Pea smiled fondly at that, driving to the edge of town and then passed it. Eventually they pulled to a stop in a field, empty save for several trees. Sweet Pea parked in the shadiest part of the clearing, more out of habit than necessity, but he figured that it also couldn't hurt.

"Give me a hand," Amy ordered, as she started to turn the trunk into their usual sleeping set up.

"What are you doing?"

"You need cuddles," she told him simply. While many teenage boys would complain about the term 'cuddles' or find it emasculating, Sweet Pea could only chuckle and obey.

"Whatever you say."

Once the trunk was set up, Amy let Sweet Pea lift her by the waist and set her down on the edge so that she could remove her boots and swing her legs in. Once she was all the way in, he sat on the edge and did the same, complying when she immediately pulled him down to lie beside her.

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _left town with Sweets for cuddles and sexy times, be safe, love you both_

Amy tucked her head into the crook of his neck, curling against him as tightly as possible, making no objections when Sweet Pea manhandled her until she was lying half on top of him.

They stayed like that for over an hour; Sweet Pea playing with Amy's hair—which he had long since freed from its usual ponytail—while she drifted in and out of sleep, and by the time she woke up properly, Sweet Pea felt significantly calmer.

"Ready to go back?" He asked, seeing her watching him.

"Go back? Already?"

"I know you don't like missing school after being away for months," he said, trying to shrug—a task made impossible due to the small girl lying on him.

"Oh please," Amy scoffed, "I'm pretty caught up, and you matter more to me than school. Besides, I seem to recall a couple of promises that I made you, and the trunk is big enough for two."

"Just not four," Sweet Pea laughed. "Are you sure?"

"I promised, Sweets. Whatever you want."

"Still want to make you fall apart," he told her.

She sat up and straddled him, unbuttoning his dark flannel.

"Whatever you want," she promised.

She had just finished unbuttoning the shirt when Sweet Pea grabbed her hips and flipped them over. Amy reached up to slide the shirt and jacket as far down his arms as she could, but he pulled away to finish the task. She whined and gave a small pout. As soon as he was back leaning over her, biting his way down her neck, she wrapped one hand in his hair and splayed the other over his abs, content to feel it rise and fall with every breath.

"I love you," he whispered, letting himself be pulled up for a kiss.

"I love you too, Sweets. Ride or die."

"Ride or die," he agreed.

As Amy loosened her grip, Sweet Pea retraced his hickeys from the day before, unzipping her bandeau as he went. As his mouth left a collection of bite marks on her stomach, one hand slipped under her skirt, tugging at the waistband of her shorts. After a moment of trying, and failing, to gather the waistband of her knickers as well, he realized that she had gone without. A pool of heat grew first in his stomach, then lower. He tapped at Amy's hip with his free hand. The girl lifted them obediently, letting him pull the shorts off. Sweet Pea moaned, overwhelmed by her scent, and fought the desire to dive right in.

Instead, he looked up at her, meeting her eyes and waiting. She nodded. Sweet Pea finally abandoned the constellation of bite marks on her stomach, moving instead to kiss her thighs. Her skirt bunched up around her waist as she lifted her hips reflexively, but a large, warm hand pressed her firmly against the mattress. He continued to tease her, leaving kisses everywhere except for where she wanted his mouth. Finally, when she could no longer bite back her noises and her eyes fluttered shut, he stopped teasing.

Amy had always praised Sweet Pea's mouth, and this was no exception. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she was speaking, an incoherent stream of words flowing out of her mouth, but she had no idea what she was saying. She was only aware of the feelings of love and safety that she always associated with Sweet Pea, and of the almost unbearable heat pooling in her gut. If it were anyone other than Sweet Pea—or Toni or Fangs—she'd be afraid of losing herself. But with one hand on her waist, the other holding her hand, and his mouth pressed against her, she knew that Sweet Pea would always take care of her.

Amy saw white as she came, shudders racking through her body, as Sweet Pea coaxed her through it. She felt wetness pool on the bedding of the mattress, and was suddenly glad that they wouldn't need it that night. She let Sweet Pea guide her through the aftershocks of orgasm, eventually pulling him back up for a kiss.

"You good?" He asked her softly.

"So good," she agreed with a tired grin.

"Promised I'd make you fall apart." Sweet Pea smirked, chin glistening, and Amy couldn't help but kiss him again.

She lifted herself up onto her elbows, pushing at his chest until he was laying down. "Now I believe I promised you a ride?"

"You don't have to, Doll. I'm good."

"I know I don't have to, but I want to," she insisted, "I just might need some help." Sweet Pea lifted his hips, letting Amy slide his jeans and boxers down his thighs, and kicked them off. She moved to straddle him, lowering herself onto him and leaning back against his bent knees. Face flushed and heart ready to burst, she raised her hips slightly. He hurried to set his hands on her waist, helping her up and down.

"Ride or die," she whispered to him.

"Ride or die," he returned, and, despite everything, that affected her more strongly than anything else.

That's what sex had always been about for them: the promise that they were never alone, that it was them against the world. The familiar words, the promise they held, was what pushed Amy over the edge the second time, with Sweet Pea following soon behind. Only a couple of moments later, Amy collapsed completely, letting Sweet Pea guide her down until she was tucked against him.

She was still tucked against him when they both woke up, an hour later.

"Hey Doll," Sweet Pea murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Hey Sweets- time's it?"

"Two, I think?"

Amy sat up, and pulled out her phone to check, "yeah, two. Crap, Toni messaged me, one sec." She unlocked her phone and read the message quickly, before turning back to Sweet Pea. "Apparently Baby Jones is bringing back the school paper, and Toni wants me to get involved in it with her. I'm pretty sure she just wants me to have a platform if I do write that exposé on the Sisters, but FP did ask me to look out for him, so I might as well…"

"So I guess it's time to head back?" Sweet Pea asked, unable to hide his disappointment.

"Not yet," Amy reassured him, "we've probably got another hour before we need to go, then I can just stop in to talk to them before cheer."

"Sounds good," he agreed, his relief palpable. "Set an alarm for an hour from now."

Amy complied, already knowing where he was going with that, and set her phone to the side. Sweet Pea pulled her back to her previous position, on her side and pressed tightly against him, and went back to playing with her hair.

Sweet Pea knew that he wasn't a schemer, not like Toni and Amy, but he felt a rush of pride when he realized that Amy had fallen back asleep. As much as he needed the time away, he knew that she was in desperate need of sleep, and would never willingly take the time to rest. He hadn't been planning it when he left class, but he'd started thinking about it as soon as she mentioned cuddles.

Amy's alarm went off an hour later, jolting her awake.

"Time to go?" She asked.

"Time to go," he agreed, "get dressed."

There was a moment of awkward shuffling as they dug around for their various discarded garments, but soon Sweet Pea was buckling up his belt, and Amy was zipping up her bandeau.

"Have you seen my shorts?"

"I think I tossed them somewhere over—here they are!" Sweet Pea said triumphantly, finding them hidden underneath his flannel.

Once they were both dressed, they sat on the edge of the Jeep to put on their respective boots. Sweet Pea climbed out first, and then lifted Amy out.

Amy started towards the passenger door, but stopped suddenly. "Sweets, did you literally cover my stomach in a giant S?"

"Yep," he said, unrepentant.

Amy looked at him, then back down at her exposed stomach. "Is this because you didn't like everyone seeing me dressed like this?"

"Nope—it's your body, you should dress however you want. I didn't like the way people were looking at you, dressed like that."

Amy considered that for a moment, and shrugged. "Okay," she said finally, before opening her door. Sweet Pea lifted her in, overwhelmed by smug satisfaction when he saw the way she shifted in her seat, the way she only ever did after having his or Toni's mouths on her. He went around the car and took his seat, shifting the car into gear before reaching over and squeezing her thigh fondly.

"Thanks, Amy," he said.

"Always, Sweets," she promised. "Ride or die?"

"Ride or die," he agreed, and quickly pulled out of the clearing and onto the highway towards Riverdale.

He drove straight to school instead of stopping to grab their bikes. They were all dedicated to their biker aesthetic but he had a feeling that Amy wouldn't be up for riding hers quite yet. He followed her to the old Red and Black office, staying silent in the background when Jughead and Amy started to speak.

"Adams?" Jughead asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I invited her," Toni said, carrying a box into the room. Sweet Pea grabbed it from her out of habit, setting it down on the desk and ruffling her hair affectionately. It wasn't the right time for words, but he wanted her to know that he was okay.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because we're a package deal?" Amy retorted. "Look, we don't like each other, that's fine, but you need someone on this team who knows the Southside inside and out. Which stories need to be told and which will get you killed. Besides, I may not be a writer, but I've got shit to say."

Jughead thought about that for a moment, before deciding that fighting her would be more trouble than it was worth. "Fine."

"Good. Now that that's settled, I've got to get to practice. Toni, I'll tell the girls that something came up?"

"Thanks babe." She kissed Amy and Sweet Pea quickly, correctly assuming that the later would insist on accompanying her to the locker rooms.

Amy froze mid step, "oh shit."

"What's wrong?"

"We took the car, I won't have a way back to the Wyrm."

Sweet Pea relaxed visibly. "It's fine, Doll, I can watch your practice."

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all," he promised.

"Okay. Thanks, Sweets. Want to head into the gym while I change?"

He did so, pressing a soft kiss to her temple and accepting the offered hearing aids before leaving. Amy went to the locker rooms to get changed, as usual, and, while tying her hair into a ponytail, took a moment to just stare at herself in the mirror, admiring the collection of marks Sweet Pea had left. Hickeys and bite marks travelled from her neck all the way down her torso, and some even peaked out from the bottom of her skirt. Once her ponytail was perfect, she quickly reapplied her makeup, which had gotten messed up in the car, tossed her glasses into their case in her backpack, and finally entered the gym.

She lost herself in practice, relieved that they were learning choreo instead of running drills, and before she knew it, they were being dismissed and she went straight to Sweet Pea.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom, Doll. Meet in the hall when you're ready?"

"Absolutely," she agreed, "Fangs left with Toni, right?"

Sweet Pea nodded and showed her the messages saying just that. They split up, and Amy changed quickly, eager to leave.

Somehow she got out before Sweet Pea did, pacing the hall while she waited. It was on her second lap that she noticed a figure, curled up against the lockers in the next hallway. She squinted, sliding on her glasses, and could make out a familiar beanie.

"Jones?" She called.

Jughead looked up, and Amy immediately ran down the hall towards him. She crouched down beside him, and was surprisingly relieved to see that he wasn't beat up too badly, mostly just cuts and bruises. He had a black eye, and his breathing suggested that he might have a bruised rib or two, but overall he seemed okay. Amy wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him up, half dragging him back to the main hallway.

"There you are, Doll," Sweet Pea sighed.

"Yeah, there was a bit of a delay. The Ghoulies clearly got to Jones when he was leaving. Help me carry him to the car?"

Sweet Pea lifted Jughead into a fireman's carry, and Amy grabbed her phone, typing away as they headed for the parking lot.

 **Too Gay For This Shit:** _meet FP's- baby jones got beat up_

She didn't wait for a reply, confident that Toni and Fangs would be there. She opened the back door of the Jeep, and helped Sweet Pea load Jughead into the car, before Sweet Pea lifted her in too. When they pulled into Sunnyside, Amy saw that Toni and Fangs' bikes weren't already parked, and figured that they must have gotten held up at the Wyrm.

She dug out her keys, opening the door for Sweet Pea, who was once again carrying Jughead. Sweet Pea had just dumped Jughead on the couch when Toni and Fangs strolled in.

"What happened?" Toni asked.

"Ghoulies," Jughead said, still only half conscious.

"Told you to wear the jacket," Amy said. "Do you know who?"

"Barely saw their faces, don't know their names."

"Fangs?"

"I'll find out," he told her.

"Good. Toni, Sweets, want to pick up a pizza?" She asked, handing Toni her –well, Mary's- Costco card.

"I don't know," Sweet Pea said.

"I'll be fine, Sweets," she promised, "The door locks, I'm armed, and even most Ghoulies wouldn't fuck with anyone on FP's property." He still looked unsure, so Amy pulled him away from the others. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him down until she could whisper in his ear. "I promise, Sweets. Baby Jones would be an idiot to fuck with me, and no one would think that I'd willingly be spending time with him. Please? For me?"

It was the last two words that broke his resolve. Sweet Pea had never been able to deny Amy anything, and clearly this wouldn't be the exception. He dug his car keys out of his pocket, heading to the Jeep with Toni while Fangs hopped on his bike to go ask around at the Wyrm.

"Why are you doing this?" Jughead asked, when the door closed behind them, "you hate me."

"I do," Amy agreed, "but you're FP's son and that means something around here; it means you're ours. We take care of our own, and I don't like when people mess with what's mine." And then—maybe out of habit, maybe to emphasize her point, or maybe just because that's who Amy was—she kissed him.

Jughead pushed her away immediately. "I have a girlfriend," he reminded her.

"And I'm asexual, what's your point? It doesn't mean anything."

Jughead raised an eyebrow, "No?"

"Nope. Hell, I lost my virginity at thirteen."

"What?" Jughead asked, confused by the change of subject.

"I mean I was like barely thirteen if you count oral, almost fourteen if you don't- both times with Toni and Sweets, and then including Fangs when we were all fourteen—" Realizing that she was getting off topic, she shook her head. "Point is, it doesn't have to mean anything. I mean, it can, depending on the situation and the person- or people- but in and of itself it doesn't have to. I've kissed all of my good looking friends and hell, I've slept with almost every Serpent under twenty one. It doesn't mean anything beyond a physical reminder that we're not alone. And neither are you. I might not like you very much, but your dad was our king, which makes you one of us. You're not alone anymore, and you never will be. And we take care of our own, I'll take care of the Ghoulies."

"But sex is-"

"Sex is two, or more, bodies seeking pleasure." Amy got a far off look in her eyes, and when she continued to speak it sounded more like a mantra than something that he was supposed to hear. "If sex doesn't mean anything, then nudity doesn't mean anything, then nudity isn't a vulnerability, then they've never seen me vulnerable. If sex doesn't—"

Unsure of how else to snap her out of it, Jughead leaned forward and kissed her quickly.

"So, do you think Archie is actually going to pursue a career in teen vigilantism?" he asked suddenly.

Amy blinked once, twice, then sighed. "I hope not, but honestly… If he thinks it'll protect people or something…"

"Then there's no stopping him," Jughead agreed.

"Mary's the only one who'd have a shot in hell of talking him out of it, but she's flying back to Chicago tonight, so—"

"So we're doomed?" Jughead asked.

Amy shrugged, "I would have said fucked, but you know, same difference."

Jughead laughed, and after a moment, so did Amy. And they were still laughing when the others got back, armed with pizza but no answers.

I hope you enjoyed! This chapter went in a completely different direction than I had expected, mostly because Sweet Pea and Amy just wouldn't do what they were supposed to, and 48 pages later, here we are! As always, I'm always very open to feedback and suggestions!


	4. We Don't Deal with Outsiders Very Well

Jughead just got beat up, Archie is a teen vigilante, and there's still a murderer in town. But somehow, that's not even the worst part of Amy's day.

Chapter title is from Heathens by 21 Pilots (and honestly one of the most Serpent songs ever)

WARNING: lots of underage drinking, guns and fighting (from canon), mentions of (canon) underage stripping, and mentions of real world serial killers

 **(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter**

It Sounds Better Than It Is (This Business of Surviving)

Amy woke early the next morning, more content than she had been since the beginning of summer. The four Serpents had slept over at the Jones' trailer the night before, and, curled up with Toni in their old cot, Amy started to feel hopeful that things would get better. She saw Sweet Pea and Fangs sleeping, sprawled out on the mattress that they had brought in from the Jeep, and, turning, saw Jughead starting a pot of coffee in the small kitchenette.

"Amy, coffee?" Jughead asked.

"Only if I get FP's Serpent mug."

Jughead nodded easily, pouring coffee into the requested mug; a gift that Amy had given FP the day after her initiation. She had painted it herself, and it certainly wasn't a masterpiece, but she was proud of it nonetheless.

Amy took the mug, taking a long sip, and watching her friends sleep. If someone had told her, even yesterday, that she would feel so safe and content with Jughead Jones, of all people, she might have stabbed them, but she couldn't deny it. Her partners sound asleep, Jughead now sitting on the kitchen counter, and a warm mug in her hands? Tucked away from the world in the one place that she'd always considered a home? This was the safest she'd felt since before Mustang had sent her to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

A sudden knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts, and out of her cocoon of safety.

"Jughead, are you there?"

"Shit, it's Betty," Jughead told her.

"Does she have a key?"

"No, but she won't leave before I answer."

"Oh, okay, that's easy. Go to the bathroom, hop in the shower. I'll wake these guys up and we'll hide anything that would suggest that we were here overnight. I can handle the rest, Jones, I swear."

"Really?" he asked, suspicious.

"Really," she agreed.

"Fine." With that, Jughead made his way to the bathroom, and Amy set about waking the others.

"Doll? What's up?" Sweet Pea asked, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"Princess Cooper is outside of the door. You guys need to hide the cot and the mattress, then get changed. I'm going to get dressed now and try to stall Cooper."

They nodded immediately, as she knew they would, and got to work. Toni deflated the mattress, while Fangs and Sweet Pea folded up the cot, tucking it into the back of the closet. Amy went into the bedroom, digging through FP's dresser- he'd always let them keep a drawer to themselves, for nights when they'd had nowhere else to go. She slipped back into the skirt that Veronica had given her, and pulled a tight black tank top out of the drawer, shoving her pyjamas away and tossing on her jacket. Much to her relief, the other three had finished their cleanup, and were just heading into the bedroom to grab their own clothes.

Once she was certain that none of them would be visible from the door frame, she opened the door.

"Finally, Jug, I've been knocking for five—you're not Jughead." Betty said suddenly, looking up from her phone.

"No, I'm not. My friends and I came by to see if Jones wanted a ride to school, but he's in the shower. I still have the key FP gave me, so I let myself in. One sec—" Not letting Betty in the door, she turned away, yelling towards the bathroom, "Hey, Jones, can I let Cooper in?"

"Betty's here?" Jughead called back, and Amy was impressed by his acting. If she didn't know better, she might have even believed that he didn't know.

"Yeah, she's been knocking."

"Let her in, I'll be out in a second."

Amy glanced to the side quickly, and saw the other three Serpents, dressed and ready to go.

"Alright, come on in," she said finally, stepping back.

Jughead stepped out of the bathroom moments later, wearing jeans and towel drying his hair, chest bare.

"Amy? How did you get in?" He asked.

"FP gave me a key. We were going to offer you a ride to school. But first, go get dressed."

"Yes Ma'am," he agreed sarcastically, heading into the bathroom.

"Oh, Jug, you're face," Betty gasped, when he re-entered the room. His face was no longer covered by a towel, and the bruises from the Ghoulies' beating were hard to ignore.

"Drove over a pothole yesterday, fell off my bike," he told her. "It's honestly not a big deal."

"That's why we were offering him a lift," Amy agreed. She might not know why the Jones boy was lying to his girlfriend, but she certainly wasn't one to object to a little white lie—or any other kind of lie, as long as she was the one telling it.

Amy could almost feel Jughead's tension, how much he must have hated lying to the Northsider, and how much more he hated the idea of telling her the truth.

"Grab some coffee, Jones, and let's get going. I've got a few people to see before classes."

If she hadn't been looking, she might have missed his sigh of relief. "Yeah, fine." He agreed. "Sorry, Betts. I'll call you later?"

"Wait, but Jug—"

"We're burning daylight, Jones. Get your ass in my car or I'll leave you behind," Sweet Pea called, already making his way out the door to start the car.

"We'll talk later," Jughead promised, downing his cup of coffee and giving the blonde a quick peck, before letting Amy drag him out.

Betty followed them, and Jughead locked the door, rushing to take the middle seat in the car before Betty could interrogate him.

"A motorcycle accident?" Toni asked, once they were parked outside of the school.

"If she knew that it was the Ghoulies, she'd try to drag me back to Riverdale High. It's just easier if she doesn't know."

"Whatever you say. But from now on, you wear this at school," Amy instructed, digging the jacket he'd been given out of her duffle bag. She'd never doubted that Sweet Pea would take care of it when he packed them up, but she was relieved all the same.

"I don't think—"

"Honestly, Jones? I don't care what you think. You wear the jacket. The Ghoulies won't touch you as long as you're under our protection. One beating, the result of your own pride? That's no big deal. A second, because we didn't have your back? FP would be fucking pissed, and I don't like when he's disappointed in me."

"Daddy issues, much?" Jughead asked, laughing.

"None of your business, Jones. Now put on the fucking jacket and let Toni take you to class. We've got some Ghoulies to deal with."

"When you say deal with?"

"Don't you worry, Princeling, just a reminder that you're under our protection now."

The group split off, with Toni and Jughead heading to gym class, and the other three to the cafeteria where, as she promised, Amy only issued a reminder. A loud reminder with quite a few threats, standing on a cafeteria table with Fangs and Sweet Pea behind her, staring down the table of Ghoulies, but still technically just a reminder.

They reconvened for English class, where Amy, very publicly, called Jughead over to sit with them.

"There are only four chairs," he pointed out.

"God, Jones, you really don't get how shit works around here. As long as you're sitting with us, the word will spread that you're in, and that'll keep you safe. Besides, I don't need a seat."

"What do—" Jughead didn't even have time to finish his question before Amy was abandoning her chair and making herself comfortable on Sweet Pea's lap. "Is that allowed?"

"Probably not," Amy admitted, "but no one is going to stop me, so why shouldn't I?"

"I… guess?" He said eventually, taking the empty seat. It felt strange, to be the only one participating while surrounded by four people who clearly could not care less, but he needed Mr. Phillips to like him if he wanted to keep the Red and Black, so he did it anyways.

"You're such a suck up," Amy teased, when the bell finally rang. "You have geometry next, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"Lottie texted me," she explained, "I'm in that class. I usually skip, but you're not going anywhere alone until we're sure the Ghoulies get the message, so you'll be sitting with me today."

"Do I get a say in this?" He asked, sarcasm falling a bit flat.

"Not at all," Amy told him cheerfully. "Unless you want the Ghoulies to actually break your ribs next time?"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like my kind of hobby."

"Then you sit with me. Or Fangs, or T, or Sweets, whoever is in class with you. You have at least one of us in each class, so that's definitely manageable."

Jughead groaned, "fine, whatever."

"That's the spirit," Amy taunted. "Sweet Pea will walk us to class, since he's right next door, and we'll reconvene in chemistry."

Lacking the patience for any more discussion, Amy turned on her heel, confident that Sweet Pea would make sure Jughead followed.

She took her usual seat in the back of the class and Jughead moved to join her.

"Hold on," Sweet Pea said, grabbing him by the arm.

"What?" Jughead demanded, shaking away the other's hand.

"Just. Don't worry about the Ghoulies, Jones. The Jewels have it covered."

"The Jewels?"  
"Yeah? You know, Amethyst and Topaz? Look, I know that Amy is demanding, she's used to people obeying her. But as long as you listen to her, she'll make sure no one else fucks with you."

"Yeah, I'm starting to figure that out. Fine, I'll listen, but I'm not joining the Serpents."

"You don't have to, not if you just want protection. Your FP's son, and Amy idolizes him, that alone makes you worth protecting. Now go to your seat and just do what she says."

"Fine," Jughead agreed, pulling away and taking the seat next to Amy. The class passed without incident, as did chemistry, but as soon as they claimed their table in the cafeteria, dragging Jughead along, things went downhill.

"Yo, Adams, you seen that Red Circle video yet?" Ricky called.

"Heard about it, we were just going to watch it," she called back, immediately pulling out her phone and loading the video- over a dozen Serpents had sent it to her in the past few hours.

The video finished, and Amy, for once, was speechless.

"Jesus," Jughead sighed, "what was he thinking?"

"That his dad was shot right in front of him and he's terrified. Sweets, hold down the fort? I've got a call to make."

She didn't wait for confirmation—she never waited for confirmation, Jughead had noticed, so confident that she would be obeyed—before grabbing her phone and storming out of the cafeteria.

She connected her hearing aids to their remote, pulling up Archie's contact information on her phone and immediately dialing.

"Ames—"

"Don't fucking 'Ames' me right now. Are you a fucking idiot, Andrews?"

"What are you—"

"I saw the Red Circle video, Red. Look, I get PTSD, I really do, but god, that video is a fucking death sentence. FP's in jail, Red, and we nearly lost your dad. I can't lose you too." Despite her efforts, Amy couldn't stop the sob that burst out of her.

"I'll be okay, Ames, I promise. I have a plan, I'll be okay."

"You'd better be. If you die on me, Red, I'll bring you back just so that I can kill you myself."

Archie chuckled fondly, "I know you will, Ames. I've got to go, but I love you."

"I love you too, Red. Be careful."

"I will," he promised, before hanging up.

Amy wiped the tears from her eyes, shoving her phone back into her pocket as she marched back into the cafeteria, climbing onto the bench, Sweet Pea's hands finding her hips immediately, keeping her steady.

"Alright Serpents, listen up. Archie Andrews may be a fucking idiot, but he's off limits. No one instigates anything or you'll be answering to me. Are we clear?"

She didn't give anyone a chance to answer before sitting back on the bench, squishing herself between Fangs and Sweet Pea.

"Was that Archie you just called? Is he okay?" Jughead demanded.

"It was, and he, well, he says he is. He's got a whole lot of PTSD and guilt though. He says he has a plan but honestly? I think the plan is to get his own ass kicked because he thinks that he deserves it."

"Self-sacrificing idiot for a thousand?" Jughead joked.

"Yeah, something like that." Amy smiled tiredly, leaning her head against Fangs and opening her mouth when he pressed a forkful of the—well, food might be too generous of a word for it—to her lips.

They made it through the rest of their classes without incident, until Toni dragged her out of art class to the Red and Black office. The boys were already there, clearly having been texted by Toni.

"The Black Hood sent a cipher- who wants to solve it with me?" She asked, far too excited about a serial killer in their own town.

"I'm in," Jughead agreed immediately.

"Count me out- I'm going to have my hands full with Red's vigilante nonsense," Amy decided.

Fangs and Sweet Pea declined too, which Amy knew meant that they didn't want her going anywhere alone—though whether because of the Black Hood or the Red Circle, she had no idea.

"So, Jones," Amy started, "you've got a thing for serial killers too?"

"They fascinate me," he agreed.

"So, are you more into Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer?" Toni asked.

"The Zodiac Killer, actually."

"God, you guys are boring. Jack the Ripper, anyone?" Amy countered.

"Is this seduction to you guys?" Fangs asked, amused.

"Actually my looks are my seduction," Amy teased, "this is foreplay. What do you say, Princeling, want to check out my favourite closet?"

"Tempting," Jughead teased back, "but I'll have to pass. Let's save that for celebrating when we solve the cipher."

"But where's the instant gratification in that?" Amy asked, jutting her lower lip out in a semi-playful, semi-flirty pout.

"You have to earn it," Toni interrupted.

"Damn, Topaz, it was just getting good," Sweet Pea whined.

Jughead blinked, seeming to remember where he was and, more importantly, who he was with. He cleared his throat loudly. "Right, so, the cipher?"

"You promised to call your girlfriend, Jones, then we can head to the trailer and get started."

Jughead nodded, excusing himself to a corner of the room and pulling out his phone.

"Damn, Adams, what was that?" Fangs asked, throwing an arm over the girl's shoulder.

"Chicken," Amy said quickly—almost too quickly.

The other three exchanged looks over her head, none of them believing her but still not wanting to call her out on it.

"So… Betty just asked me to solve the cipher with her, and when I told her that we were going to do it together, she told me to host a cipher-solving party? Whatever that means… anyways, it would just be us, Betty, and Kevin, but are you okay with that?" Jughead asked, looking at Toni.

"A party with you and two Northsiders… Not my usual Friday night, but I'm in. Guys?"

"I'll pass. I've got to get shit set up for Girls' Night at the Wyrm. You'll still be there, right T?"

"Of course! I'll come by after the cipher party. Ask Lottie to bring that cherry schnapps from last time?"

"Obviously! God, that was amazing."

"I can't imagine either of you drinking cherry schnapps, honestly," Jughead admitted.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Well, there's a reason we only do it when it's just the girls. Any sort of pink, or fruity, or actually pleasant tasting drink would have every single male Serpent looking down on us."

Jughead considered her words, "That… makes sense. I guess I never thought of it."

"Well of course not. Anyways, we should drop you and T at the trailer so you can get ready for this party thing."

No one argued, so they piled into the Jeep and took off. Sweet Pea parked behind the trailer, watching the two enter, before he, Fangs, and Amy hopped out, taking off towards the Wyrm.

"Hold on, what the—" Sweet Pea took off, seeing a figure spray-paint a bodega wall.

Amy and Fangs took off after him, a few other teen Serpents rushing over to see what was happening.

"Red? What the fuck are you doing?" Amy demanded.

"Ames? I was just—"

"Tagging our turf with your vigilante gang symbol? Go back to the Northside, Andrews. Now." Sweet Pea ordered.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Sweet Pea pulled his switchblade from his pocket, flipping it open. Amy kept a firm hand on his bicep, reminding him not to instigate anything.

"Really? That's what you've got? Get lost, Sweet Pea," Archie shouted, and pulled out—was that a gun?  
"Jesus fuck, Red! What the fuck are you doing with a fucking gun? You know what, doesn't matter. Look, I love you, Red, but you need to get out of here. Even I can't stop these boys forever." Amy didn't wait to see what he would do, turning on her heel and taking off towards the Jones' trailer, confident that her boys would be following her and that the others would have dispersed.

She was just walking up the path to the trailer when she saw Toni and Kevin leaving.

"Party over already?" Fangs asked.

"I kind of told Northside about Jones sitting with us at lunch? I think they need the time to themselves now. What are you doing here?"

"I was going to talk to Jones. We just ran into Archie, spray painting fucking red circles on walls, waltzing around with a fucking gun."

"Wait what?" "Archie has a gun?" Toni and Fangs asked in unison.

"Yeah… Look, I think I need to get really drunk before I can even start to think about handling this, so why don't we get you," she looked over at Kevin, "back home, then head to the Wyrm?"

Toni nodded easily, and they set off. Knowing that Amy needed to clear her head, none of the Serpents suggested the Jeep, and instead they walked through the Southside, into the Northside, and eventually stopped outside of Kevin's house.

"Before you go, Kev—this morning Cooper mentioned that you've been cruising in Fox Forest. I don't want to tell you how to live your life but, there's murderer in town, and that shit's dangerous. You need a lay, shoot me a text, alright? I'll get you some options—hell, I bet neither of my boys would mind a night with you. Look, I didn't mean to, but I actually kind of like you. I've got your back, okay?"

Kevin looked between Amy and the two boys, expecting some sort of objection to the way that she had basically—rather, actually—offered them to him if he wanted, but when none came, he nodded. "Deal. Thanks, Amy."

"No problem," she smiled softly, "I take care of my own, and that includes you. Take care, Kev, I'll see you around."

She turned, waving over her shoulder, and dug her phone out of her pocket. She turned on her remote and pulled up Fred's contact, dialling it on instinct.

"Sweetheart? Is everything okay?"

The familiar concern filled her with affection; Fred remembered how much she hated phone calls, and knew that something had to be wrong for her to call rather than text.

"Not really," she admitted. "Archie's gone off the rails a bit. I think I can handle it, but I wanted to let you know.

"Do you need me to do anything?"

"Not yet," she decided. "Give me twenty-four hours? I'll try to get through to him. After that, though, I'll need the cavalry."

"You got it, Amy. I'm here if you need me though."

"I know. Thanks, Fred."

"Anytime, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you too," she replied, hanging up her phone.

Looking up, she saw that they were standing outside of the Wyrm. She didn't remember getting there, but she decided not to dwell on that.

"Alright, you know the rules; no boys allowed. We'll call when we're done, and you can pick us up. Don't do anything stupid? Please?"

"No promises, Doll. You know us," Sweet Pea said.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

The four exchanged kisses and 'I love yous', before the girls entered the bar, smiling and greeting the girls who had already arrived.

"Hey, Lottie," Amy called, seeing the blonde by the jukebox, "you got the schnapps?"

"Of course I do!" Lottie gestured to a bag sitting on the bar, and Amy immediately poured out a round of shots. Girls' nights were usually only the girls under 30, so everyone rushed over to grab a glass, cheering and downing their shots.

Another round of shots found Amy climbing on the stage, wrapping a hand around the center pole.

"Get me a song, T!" She called, giggling when she heard the opening of _Rebel Girl_ , which she knew to be Toni's ringtone for her.

Shifting her weight, she spun around the pole a few times and, once she was confident in her balance, started to dance. It was different, to her, dancing when it was just the girls. She didn't feel disgusting like she did when there were men in the room. When the song ended, she jumped off the stage.

"Damn, babe, that may have been your best yet," Toni told her, before leaning over the pool table to take her turn against Brooke, an older girl with unnaturally red hair.

"Thanks, T! It's so much easier when there aren't a few dozen men leering," Amy pointed out, downing another shot before making her way to one of the dart boards along the wall.

"At least when I work in Centreville I get paid," Brooke told them.

"See, that would be so much better. Like, god… the fucking dance is literally just a way for the men to get a free show at our expense? Hell, I'd dance every night if I got a paycheck, even if they didn't tip."

"Preach, Adams," Lottie agreed, from behind the bar. "Now, who wants a cosmo?"

Everyone hurried over to grab one—it was rare that they got to enjoy any "girly" drinks, so none of them liked to turn down a chance to have them.

Amy was on her third—or at least, she thinks it was her third—cosmo when her phone went off.

She saw the text alert and hurried to open it.

 **Sweets:** _I love you Doll. And I'm sorry._

"Fuck! Has anyone heard from any of the boys?"

Amy hadn't even finished her sentence before everyone was checking their phones, and shaking their heads.

Amy tried to fight the anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her, and instead started tossing out instructions.

"Lottie, Sophie, Brooke- I want you to check the trailer park. Text me if you find anyone. Everyone else, start calling around."

Amy grabbed a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar—cheap, and half empty, but strong—and finished it off, slamming it down on the counter. She had just started to look for something else to drink, when her phone went off again, this time with a Messenger alert.

 **Veronica Lodge:** _Your boys are here, a fight's going down, and I don't think I can stop them_

 **Amy Adams:** _Where?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _The bridge_

 **Amy Adams:** _do they have their bikes?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _yeah, all of them do_

"Change of plans, guys, I know where they are. Toni and I are going to collect them and send everyone home. Someone text the other three, tell them the hunt is over." She grabbed Toni, pulling her out of the Wyrm.

"Babe, what's going on?"

"Veronica Lodge just texted me, there's a brawl going on at the bridge, Bulldogs against Serpents."

"What the fuck are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" They had just taken off, when Toni stopped suddenly. "Shit, we're too drunk to ride, aren't we?"

"Oh, definitely," Amy agreed, "so we'd better move fast. The boys all have their bikes, so we can get back no problem."

"Okay, good." With that, the two girls took off again, sprinting as fast as they could.

By the time they reached the bridge, the fight already seemed to be breaking off, with most of the Bulldogs climbing into their cars. Amy saw Veronica lowering a gun, and realized that she must have used it to break them up, and made a mental note to thank her later. But first, she had her own boys to deal with.

"Serpents! Get the fuck over here," she shouted, and it was only a few seconds before they were all gathered around she and Toni.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" She demanded. "Fighting Bulldogs, unarmed, on their turf? Are you fucking kidding me?" A few boys opened their mouths, but Amy cut them off. "You know what? I don't fucking care what you were thinking. Get the fuck out of here and go home, all of you. Sweet Pea, Fangs, hang back."

Everyone hurried to obey her, not willing to cross her when she was so angry.

"We didn't bring our bikes, so we need a lift," Toni told them. "Fangs, we're going straight to yours, and then you can try to explain why you were such idiots."

The boys agreed, climbing onto their bikes with the girls behind them, arms wrapped tightly around them. Being pissed off wasn't a good enough reason to risk falling off, after all.

It wasn't long before they reached the Fogarty trailer, and Amy was grateful for the fact that his grandmother had a shift at the call center that night. As soon as they were in, Amy grabbed several towels, tossing one to each of her partners so that they could dry off from the rain.

They all stripped out of their soaked clothes before drying themselves off and changing into the pyjamas that they all stored in Fangs' room, and Amy started boiling water in their old kettle, digging around for tea bags.

It wasn't until they were sitting together in Fangs' bed, worn comforter pulled over their laps, warm mugs in hand, that Amy finally spoke.

"What were you thinking?" She asked softly, too tired, too drunk to care.

"Honestly? That he says he loves you but pulls a fucking gun on your friends, on your turf, in front of you, and that that's just not okay," Sweet Pea admitted.

"I asked you not to," Amy sighed, tucking her head against his chest.

"I know, Doll. But what he did was hurting you, and I can't just do nothing when someone hurts you."

"Yeah, I know." She pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. "But next time, don't send me such a vague text. I was so scared."

"I'm sorry, Doll."

"So am I," Fangs said. "To both of you. We shouldn't have gone behind your backs."

"You shouldn't have," Toni agreed, "but you did, and we can't change that. So, instead, why don't we move on? I seem to recall someone promising The Princess Bride?"

Amy perked up at the mention of the movie, "yes! Please?"

"Of course." Fangs climbed out of bed, rolling the TV into the bedroom and setting up the DVD.

They had only just reached the eels when Toni noticed that Amy was sound asleep. She carefully took the mug from her hands, setting it on the bedside table. They left the movie running, and soon the other three were asleep too.

I hope you enjoyed! This chapter feels like a letdown after chapter 3, but it was needed to set everything up for chapters 5 & 6 (which will hopefully be done sooner than later!)


	5. In Love and Hate

In the wake of the Bulldogs v Serpents Showdown, Amy has to do some major damage control. As if that weren't enough, suddenly Jughead wants to become a full fledged Serpent, _and_ she's being invited to some Northside open house. Well, at least she got a good night's sleep

Chapter title is from Lord of the Flies by William Goulding

Also lmao I recently realized that apparently they're supposedly juniors but I thought that they were sophomores? So I'm just sticking with that because it just works better for me

As always, feel free to check this story out on AO3 (by randomestfandoms) for imbedded images!

WARNING: underage drinking, Nick St. Clair, canon typical violence, and (non graphic) consensual underage sex (which is at the very end of the chapter, so if you don't want to read it then just stop when they go to bed after the gauntlet

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

In Love and Hate

Amy woke up Saturday morning, feeling surprisingly relaxed. Tucked into Fangs' small bed, surrounded on either side by her partners, with The Princess Bride's menu page in the background, she could almost forget about the outside world.

Unfortunately that peace didn't last long, as the events from the day before rushed back to her.

She climbed over Sweet Pea, padding over to Fangs' dresser, digging through his drawers until she found a suitable outfit. After a few minutes of contemplation, she settled on black skinny jeans with open laces up the sides, and a lacy black bralette. She dug black eyeliner and blood red lipstick out of her jacket pocket, heading to the bathroom. She applied makeup like war paint, carefully pulling her hair into her signature ponytail, knowing that whatever awaited her at the Wyrm would be messy, and that it was crucial that she looked every bit the Serpent princess that she was.

By the time she re-entered the bedroom, her partners were all awake and getting dressed.

"Are you ready?" Fangs asked softly.

"Well, Tall Boy is going to suggest that we kill Archie, and I'm going to have to stop him, he'll probably accuse me of sleeping with him and claim that that's why I'm protecting him, and I'm going to have to remind him that FP is still king, and therefore the Andrews' are still off limits. No big deal, right?"

The question may have been rhetorical, but the need for reassurance was still there.

"No big deal," Toni agreed, "and if Tall Boy tries to start any shit, I've been wanting to kick his misogynistic ass for years."

Amy laughed, and relaxed slightly. "I'd definitely put my money on you winning that fight," she teased. "But first, everyone ready?"

Seeing three nods, she made her way to the door, grabbing her usual holster and her jacket, settling behind Sweet Pea on his bike, making a mental note that she and Toni would need to pick up their bikes from the Jones' trailer.

They pulled into the Wyrm, and Amy took a moment to collect herself before they marched in. Amy stood front and center, as she always did, with Toni beside her and the boys half a step behind. It was a show of strength, mastered over their many years of friendship, a warning that they were a unit, but without undermining Amy or Toni.

The first thing she saw when she entered the building was Jughead, in a Serpent jacket.

"Jones. What do you want from us?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're an opportunistic Serpent," she explained, "you only wear the jacket when you want something from us."

"You told me to wear it," he reminded her.

"Yeah, at school. Whatever, what are you doing here?"

"I heard about the fight," he told her.

"Oh. Right, actually, that reminds me," she trailed off, looking at Sweet Pea. Understanding her unspoken request, he lifted her by the waist, setting her on top of the pool table—even with her boots, she needed the extra height to be sure that all eyes were on her. Once he set her down, Amy whistled sharply. "Listen up, Serpents. I'm sure that by now, you've all heard about the fight that took place last night. Before anyone gets any ideas, no one is instigating anything." Several loud protests erupted, but Amy cut them all off, "I don't fucking care. Look, I got a few texts this morning—some dumbass Northsider apparently stabbed himself, but the Bulldogs are trying to convince him to claim that he was jumped by Serpents. I know you're all pissed, I'm pissed too, but the last thing we need is for the cops to start paying attention to us, so you all need to lay low."

"Come on, Princess," Tall Boy sneered, "just because you're fucking the Andrews kid—"

"Jesus, Tall Boy," she heard Jughead start, "they're not—"

"Thanks, Jones," she said quickly, cutting him off. "Listen, Tall Boy, even if I were fucking him, it wouldn't make a difference. FP is still our king, and he's the one who declared that, and I quote, 'Freddy Andrews and his boy are off limits,' so unless you want me to have to explain to our king that you went against his direct orders—"

"Fine," Tall Boy spat out.

"Good. I'm glad we're on the same page." She looked back at Sweet Pea, who immediately lifted her off of the table.

"Jones," Amy called, grabbing the boy's arm. "Look, I appreciate you defending me, honestly. But let me handle myself, alright? If I need to be defended, especially by someone who isn't even a Serpent, it makes me look weak. Yeah, FP's been treating me like his heir for years, and that's gotten me pretty far up the food chain around here, but I'm not you. I don't actually share his blood, so people like Tall Boy will always want to undermine me."

Jughead nodded, "sorry."

"Don't be," she said quickly, "you meant well. And if you were a Serpent, having you on my side would actually be great, but you're not. A lot of these guys have never been happy with how I associate with outsiders, especially Archie and Fred, and I can't have them getting up in arms about it again just because of the classic Jones chivalry." As she spoke, Amy made her way to the bar, preparing for a day of bartending. "Drink?" she asked.

"Um, no thanks," Jughead said.

"Your loss," she shrugged. Seeing a few of the older Serpents waving her down from across the bar, she shrugged. "I'm being summoned. Hang around if you want, flag me if you want a drink."

With that, she fell into an easy rhythm. She's been bartending at the Wyrm since she first joined the Serpents when she was twelve, and she knew everyone's usual drinks by heart. She was just pouring a glass of whiskey when she heard commotion from where the younger Serpents had gathered around a pool table.

"A pipe bomb?" She heard Jughead exclaim.

"Be right back," she excused herself, handing the glass to Brooke and heading towards the noise. "What did I just hear about a pipe bomb?" she demanded.

"Fogarty's brother is in the army," Ricky reminded her, "I bet he can get us the schematics, and we can plant one for the fucking Red Circle."

"Not happening, Ricky," Jughead warned, and for a brief moment, Amy could see just how much he resembled his dad.

"You're not a Serpent," Ricky reminded him, "you can't tell me what to do."

"He can't, but I can," Amy said. "Jones is right, it's not fucking happening."

Ricky rolled his eyes. "Fine," he spat, before turning and leaving the Wyrm.

"So, why does everyone obey you?" Jughead asked, following her back to the bar.

"I officially joined when I was twelve, and was already spending most of my free time here. FP needed an heir, and you wanted nothing to do with us, so he's been prepping me to take over. A lot of the adults don't exactly like taking orders from a fifteen year old, but they don't have a choice. Admittedly, they'd be a lot easier to control if I were actually his kid, but I'm not, so I've had to prove myself. See this scar?" she asked, sliding her jacket down, revealing a jagged scar on her left shoulder. "I got this when I was thirteen, fighting the Ghoulies. There was a turf war; I wasn't supposed to be there, but I've never really cared about what I'm supposed to do. A Ghoulie had just come up behind Mustang, I shoved him out of the way. He managed to land a hit with his knife before I got mine in his throat. Misogyny dies hard around here, but I proved myself worthy of my title. There's a lot of push back, there probably always will be, but I can mostly keep them in line."

"What if I wanted to join? Like, actually join."

"Look, no one respects your desire to protect Archie more than I do, but if you're in, you have to be all in."

"I know. I don't just want to join to protect Archie. I'm sick of being half a Serpent, okay? This is my dad's family, which sort of makes it my family too."

"Toni!" Amy called, waving her over.

"What's up?" Toni asked.

"Jones is ready to join. I want him reciting the rules tonight, see if we can't get him through by the end of the weekend. I've got to work, though, so I'm hoping that you can get him ready?"

"Of course, babe. Alright, Jones, let's do this." Amy went back to bartending, keeping one eye on Toni and Jughead.

"So, is he actually doing it?" Sweet Pea asked, coming over to the bar.

"Well, he says he is. My plan is to get him to recite the rules tonight, then retrieve the knife. I was hoping that you and Fangs could deal with the 'beast' tonight, and then the gauntlet tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. I can rally the boys?"

"Please," she agreed. "Drink for your efforts?"

"I'd rather a kiss," he teased.

"Well, that can be arranged."

Amy hoisted herself onto the bar top, swinging her legs around so that she was facing Sweet Pea. The boy stepped forward, between her legs, and used a finger to tilt her chin up. Amy wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a bruising kiss.

"Get a room, you two!" Fangs called, from where he and Lottie were engaged in a round of darts.

"Stop being a prude, Fogarty!" Sweet Pea called back, before turning back to Amy. "I'll get everything set up, you just focus on keeping everyone all liquored up."

"Thanks Sweets. Ride or die."

"Ride or die," he repeated, heading towards Fangs, waving down the other Serpent boys.

"Hey babe," Toni said, dragging Jughead to the bar.

"Well it's only barely afternoon so let me guess… Pint of shock top?"

"Shot of vodka, actually," Toni smirked.

"How bout you, Jones?" Amy asked, grabbing an open bottle of vodka and a shot glass.

"Still nothing," he said.

"Ouch. First you turn down my closet invite yesterday, now you're turning down a drink? People are going to think you don't like me," she teased.

"What's your deal with me?" Jughead asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't tell if you're flirting with me or plotting to poison me. What's your problem?"

"They don't have to be mutually exclusive," Amy argued. "Okay, look. You're cute, and Serpent royalty, and a surprisingly nice guy. But you've also looked down on me and mine for years. I mean god… Look, my dad died when I was eight, and even before that he was absolute shit. I would have given anything to have FP as my dad, and you just tossed him aside like it was nothing. You had the one thing I always wanted, and you never cared, and I've hated you for that for… god, for years. But now I've actually met you, and I mean," she let her gaze drift down from his face for a moment, "damn. And hell, you tried to stand up for me to Tall Boy. It was misplaced, but the intention was there. So maybe I don't know exactly how I feel about you, okay? I mean, I definitely wouldn't kick you out of my bed, but beyond that… I'm trying to match the reality of who you are with the villain I constructed in my mind when I was eight years old, locked away at the Sisters of Quiet fucking Mercy, dreaming of FP adopting me."

"I… I had no idea, Amethyst."

"Of course you didn't. Look, ask me again after you've been through initiation, maybe I'll have an answer by then."

Jughead nodded easily, letting Toni guide him back to the edge of the stage, where she sat him down and continued to drill him on the Serpent Laws.

Amy's afternoon passed uneventfully. She kept the drinks flowing, texted Fred to let him know that she was pretty sure that the Archie situation had been resolved, and fucked around on her phone. Soon, the sun had gone down, and it was time for Jughead's first two trials.

Amy left her position behind the bar, moving to stand next to Toni, right in front of Tall Boy and Jughead. She was pleasantly surprised when he made it through with no problem, and smirked when Sweet Pea and Fangs grabbed the snake tank, setting it down on the pool table.

Jughead looked at she and Toni, equal parts surprised and nervous, but they both gave him reassuring smiles. Amy watched as he took a deep breath, before reaching in, and pulling out the knife.

"Fuck yes! Well done, Princeling," Amy called, once the knife was laid out beside the tank.

Jughead smiled at her, before suddenly noticing the drops of blood on his hand, where the snake had bitten him.

"I've got this," Toni promised, leading Jughead to a stool at the bar, and grabbing the first aid kit.

She patched him up, surprisingly gentle, before telling him to grab some food, head home, and get some rest before his next trial. He nodded, walking outside, presumably to do as he had been told.

"You both must be looking forward to his gauntlet," Fangs teased, when he and Sweet Pea joined them by the bar.

"He has a girlfriend," Toni reminded them.

"Princess Cooper," Amy scoffed, "the son of the Serpent King dating the daughter of Serpent Enemy Number One… I don't think that's ever happened before."

"I guess that'll throw a wrench in your power couple visions," Sweet Pea said, tugging playfully on her ponytail.

"Fuck off, Sweets. Everyone knows that Toni and I are the ultimate power couple."

"Damn right we are," Toni agreed, leaning over to kiss the shorter girl.

"Well if you're going to be like that… Fangs, Mrs. F is working again tonight, right?" Sweet Pea asked.

"She is," he confirmed, "pizza and movies at mine?"

"I'm in," Amy agreed immediately. "Hey Hog-Eye, I'm heading out!" She called.

The older Serpent nodded, waving her off. Amy swiped out quickly, meeting her partners outside.

"First stop is to get the Jeep," Toni reminded them, as they all climbed onto the boys' bikes.

"Got it," Sweet Pea assured her.

They pulled to a stop at the Jones' trailer, and Amy climbed off of Sweet Pea's bike. Jughead's bike wasn't back yet, which she assumed meant that he was either with Betty or getting food. They piled into the Jeep, and Sweet Pea set off towards the nearby Costco. Amy flashed Mary's old membership card, covering the picture with her thumb, and soon they were lining up to get their food. Pizza in hand, they got back into the car, parking outside of the Fogarty trailer.

"Marvel marathon tonight?" Amy suggested.

Everyone agreed, and they went about getting everything set up. Toni grabbed four paper plates, and lots of napkins; Sweet Pea collected drinks; Fangs and Amy gathered the movies; and soon they were squished together on Fangs' bed, watching the opening of Iron Man.

They were halfway through The Avengers when Sweet Pea's phone went off with the alarm that he had set earlier in the day.

"Time for Jones to meet the Beast," he told them, "Fangs and I have to rally the boys at the Wyrm."

Both girls nodded easily, knowing that the boys had it handled. They could have gone along, of course, but both were happy to stay in and get started on the homework that they'd been avoiding.

By the time the boys got back, the girls had finished all of their own homework, and a fair amount of the boys'.

"Everything good?" Amy asked, when Sweet Pea reclaimed his spot beside her.

"Everything good. Jones handled it well. Assuming he survives the Gauntlet, he'll probably make a good Serpent," Fangs said, from his spot beside Toni.

"Good. I mean, did you guys see him shut down Ricky's pipe bomb idea? For a second he looked identical to a younger FP."

"Is this a new level of daddy issues?" Toni asked, reaching over her for the remote.

"I mean…" Amy trailed off jokingly. "Okay, no, for real. But it was impressive. If he can get them to respect him as FP's son, he'll be… he'll be something."

"Hey, he's not going to steal the mantle," Sweet Pea was quick to promise, knowing exactly where her mind had gone.

"But isn't he? He's FP's actual child."

"He's FP's son, but you're his heir. You've been his heir for years. That's not about to change."

Amy sighed. "Can we just get back to the movie?"

"Of course," Fangs agreed.

As much as they all hated when Amy shut them out, they knew better than to push, and they were just starting the second Thor movie when they all fell asleep.

Unlike the previous morning, Amy was the last one to wake up. She opened her eyes slowly, seeing that the arms wrapped around her belonged to Fangs, and that Toni and Sweet Pea were nowhere to be seen.

"Fangs? Where're the others?"

"Toni's at the Wyrm, she's covering your shift so that you can get some actual rest, and to give Jones the 'last chance to back out' spiel. Sweet Pea is getting the boys ready for the gauntlet."

"You're not with him?"

"I've been in my fair share of them, I don't need to be there til tonight. Besides, it's more important that you don't wake up alone, wondering where we are."

Amy grimaced at that, never happy to be reminded of her history of nightmares, or of the panic attacks when she woke up unable to remember where she was.

"Probably for the best," she agreed.

"Now come on," he grinned, tugging the blanket off of her. "You know the other two hate cold pizza, so they left it all for us."

"Fuck yes," Amy grinned.

She allowed herself to be pulled out of bed, stumbling after Fangs into the main room of the trailer.

"Your grandma?" She asked, looking around wearily.

"She has a day shift today, no worries."

Fangs lived with his grandmother, a sweet woman in her 50s—she had only been twenty when Fangs' dad was born, and he and Fangs' mom were only nineteen when they had Fangs. She liked the other three teens, but, being that Fangs came from a family of teen moms, she was very strict about him not having the girls over at night.

Amy hopped onto the counter, swinging her feet back and forth as she waited for Fangs to pass her a plate. Once he did, she started eagerly on her first slice. They ate in a comfortable silence, throwing out the paper plates and returning to the bedroom to get changed. Amy dressed in the same outfit as the day before, makeup and hair done to perfection, and grabbed her phone.

 **Veronica Lodge:** _hey girllllllll- my parents have the SoDale open house tonight, want to come? Kevin and I can get you dressed up, and I promise no jingle jangle tonight!_

 **Amy Adams:** _I'm in, but I might have to leave early. What do you mean no jingle jangle "tonight"? Was there jingle jangle other nights?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _Archie didn't tell you? We had a party last night for an old friend of mine, and things got pretty wild._

 **Amy Adams:** _did Red?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _everyone did_

"Fucking hell," Amy sighed.

She grabbed her hearing aids and slid them in, turning on her remote before calling Archie.

"Ames? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong, Red? What's wrong is that your girl just told me that you were fucking around with jingle jangle last night."

"Yeah, so? It was just one night."

"And it's addictive as fuck. Listen to me; don't fuck with that shit, Red."

"You've never cared about that sort of thing. I mean, you drink all the time."

"God, you don't get it, do you? Jingle jangle is a hundred times more dangerous and more addictive than alcohol. And I have an addiction, okay? I hate calling it that, but it's true, and you know it. Look, I know that I'm fucked up, I get it, and I'm fucking trying. I don't want you going down that rabbit hole just to, what, prove something to some New York City millionaire boy?"

"I… yeah, I guess you're right," Archie admitted.

"I know I am. Just… that shit is everywhere at Southside; the Ghoulies treat it like water. I've seen the consequences, and I care about you, I don't want you to end up like that."

"Okay, Ames. I won't do it again," he promised.

"Good." Amy sighed loudly, "I love you, Red."

"I love you too, Ames."

"So what was that about?" Fangs asked, peering into the room.

"Red and his Northsiders were fucking around with jingle jangle last night."

"Idiots," Fangs scoffed. "Ready to head to the Wyrm?"

"Just one second," Amy said. She zipped up her boots, tightened her ponytail, fastened her holster, and slipped on her jacket. "Alright, ready."

They walked to the Jones' trailer, climbing on their bikes and taking off to the Wyrm.

Sweet Pea was on her as soon as they walked through the door, pulling her into a bruising kiss. He let her go after a moment, and repeated the action with Fangs.

"Hey, T," Amy said, joining Toni at the bar. "Thanks for covering for me."

"Everything that's gone on lately, you needed the rest. You can find a way to repay me later."

"Not right now?" Amy asked with a smirk. "The back room should be empty."

"You're incorrigible," Toni told her, "no deal."

"Damnit. Well, at least let me finish my shift?"

"It's fine, babe. It's over in half an hour anyways."

"You're the best," Amy told her, leaning over the counter to kiss the other girl.

"I know."

"No Jones today?" Amy asked, scanning the room.

"He was here earlier. I told him to head home and think long and hard about whether or not he was ready to be all in."

"Long and hard, do you know that for sure?"

"Nah, but have you seen those jeans? Boy's definitely got something to work with."

"So what are you two leering about?" Sweet Pea asked, the boys coming to sit on either side of Amy.

"Speculating about whether or not the little princeling is actually all that little."

"Really?" Fangs asked, "can't you at least pretend to be patient?"

"Not really. Back room?"

"I'm in," Fangs agreed immediately.

"No fair," Sweet Pea argued.

"Sorry Sweets, but I promised him days ago. You'll get a turn soon enough," Amy promised, grabbing Fangs by the hand and dragging him towards the back room of the Wyrm.

When they emerged, quite a while later, Amy's ponytail was gone, replaced by loose waves, and Fangs had smears or red lipstick disappearing under his shirt collar.

"Had fun?" Toni asked, eyeing them both.

"Always," Fangs agreed.

"Shit, one sec, gotta check this," Amy excused herself, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket.

 **Veronica Lodge:** _Hey Kev! Amy is coming to the Open House tonight- want to help with dress up?_

 **Kevin Keller:** _I never say no to a good makeover! What time?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _Let's say… 4? Amy, does that work for you?_

 **Amy Adams:** _Sorry, Fangs distracted me. 4 works- should I ride over or am I getting picked up?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _I can have the limo pick you up at 3:45?_

 **Amy Adams:** _sounds good, tell him to pick me up behind the dump?_

 **Veronica Lodge:** _you got it_

Amy stuffed her phone back into her pocket, looking at the others.

"So… I'm supposed to be going to Veronica's for some open house thing? I'd really rather not, but apparently Archie was fucking with jingle jangle last night so I want to check in with him in person. I'll try to be back before Jones runs the Gauntlet, but if I'm not then Sweets, you know what to do. Just shoot me a text or swing by to get me so that I can be there for the aftermath?"

"Of course," Sweet Pea promised.

"And T, do you mind if I leave my jacket and holster with you?"

"I don't know how I feel about you being around Hiram Lodge unarmed."

"Just… give me one sec." Amy pulled a couple of small knives out of her holster, tucking them carefully into the sides of her bra. She then dug a thin piece of fabric out of the holster, tucking it into her back pocket. "Garter belt which doubles as a knife holster," she explained. "I'll be safe."

She kissed each of her partners and removed her holster and jacket, sliding them across the bar to Toni, and slipped out of the Wyrm, ducking behind the dumpster.

She had only been waiting for a few minutes when the black limo pulled up, and Amy climbed into the back without a word. She stayed silent, scrolling through her phone, until they pulled into the Pembrooke.

"Thanks," Amy said, stepping out of the car and into the lobby.

Like the last time, Kevin and Veronica were waiting for her in the lobby, and soon enough they were away from the world, in Veronica's closet.

"Can I be honest?" Veronica asked.

"Of course," Amy said hesitantly.

"I had an ulterior motive when I invited you," Veronica explained. "Nick St. Clair… Kevin met him yesterday, he's an old family friend. His parents are potential investors and a pretty big deal, so they're in town for the open house. Last night, after everyone left, Nick tried to… get with me. I stopped him, but I'm nervous that he'll try again, and Amy, you're one of the deadliest people I know. I'd just feel better knowing that you had my back if he does?"

"Of course," Amy promised. "If he tries anything with you, or anyone else, I'll handle him."

"Thanks. Now, outfit time? Do you have any preferences?"

"Green, or black. Or both." Amy said immediately.

Veronica squealed. "I have the perfect thing," she declared.

She dug through the closet for a moment, emerging with an admittedly stunning dress. The body of the dress was dark green, with a tight, sweetheart bodice and flared skirt, but the sleeves and neckline were a black lace, which would cover her arms and dip into a v-neck to connect to the sweetheart neckline of the bodice.

"Oh my god," Amy whispered. "This is the most perfect dress I have ever seen."

"It's yours," Veronica told her, "for tonight and forever."

"Think it'll work without a bra?" Amy asked, considering the open lace.

"It'll look killer without a bra," Kevin assured her.

"Alright, let's give it a try."

Amy slid off her bralette, grateful that the other two had turned away and wouldn't see the knives. As soon as she had her jeans down, she pulled on her garter, tucking the knives away, before finally putting on the dress.

"Oh my god," she repeated, twirling around. The knee length skirt spun out around her, and Amy couldn't help but giggle.

Kevin's jaw dropped and Veronica clapped. "That is amazing," Kevin told her, "you look like…"

"Like a Serpent Princess?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, that's exactly it," Veronica agreed.

"Good. Now, is there any pregaming for this shindig?"

"There can be. I snuck one of the bottles of Cristal from the caterers into my room," Veronica admitted.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Kevin asked.

"Hold on- I want to do Amy's hair. How do you feel about curls?"

"I'm fine with it. Do you have the patience to deal with it?" Down to her hips and fairly thick, Amy herself never had the patience to do anything more than a ponytail.

Veronica just laughed, guiding the shorter girl to the vanity, pushing at her shoulder until she sat. Amy watched, detached, as Veronica plugged in the curling iron, and brushed her dark hair until the iron was hot enough. She stayed still as Veronica twirled the iron expertly, and soon her hair was framing her face in impressive curls. Before standing, she leaned in to the mirror to fix her lipstick.

"Well, I was promised a drink," she announced, pushing away from the vanity and standing up.

The trio laughed, leaving the closet, and sat in a circle on Veronica's bed. They took turns drinking from the bottle until Hermione knocked on the door, telling them that it was time to go.

"It's not here?" Amy asked.

"It's at the Five Seasons, actually. Andre is going to drive us all over in the limo."

"Oh. Cool. Hey, do you have a bag that I could borrow so I can bring my phone and stuff?"

"Of course!" Veronica rummaged through her closet again, pulling out a small black purse by some designer that Amy had never heard of.

Amy took the purse, sliding it across her body—Southsiders knew a thing or two about not being robbed—and shot a quick text to her partners, letting them know where she would be.

"Veronica, you look wonderful," Hiram told his daughter. "Amy, was it? Are you sure that dress is… appropriate? You might not know, but the new development is on the Southside, and those are Serpent colours."

Amy shrugged, faux carelessly. Apparently Veronica hadn't told her parents that she was a Serpent, and she wasn't going to tell them until she'd had a chance to talk to the other girl.

Taking her silence as a dismissal, Hiram led the group into the elevator, and out into the limo where Amy was, thankfully, seated between Veronica and Kevin. They arrived at the Five Season shortly after, and Amy immediately drifted towards the bar, keeping a careful eye on Veronica. She saw a boy, not one of the Northsiders in Veronica's circle, approach the Lodge girl and, when she saw the way Veronica stiffened, realized that it had to be the would-be-assaulter. She downed her cosmo quickly, drifting closer. She wasn't going to overstep, but she wanted to be ready in care anything went wrong. Thankfully, nothing did, and soon the two were parting ways.

"Amy?" she heard Fred ask; she would know his voice anywhere.

"Fred! Hi!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Veronica invited me! She also lent me this dress! And look, it twirls!" She twirled, giggling again when the dress spun out. She knew that she was surrounded by potential threats, and that she needed to keep her guard up, but being around Fred was one of the only times that she felt like she could actually be herself.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," he told her, and oh, Amy wasn't going to cry.

Wiping away the tears threatening to spill, she grinned. "Don't I always?"

"Of course you do," Fred agreed, "and you know it. You're just fishing for compliments now."

"Of course I am," Amy teased. Fred ruffled her hair fondly before walking away to talk to someone that she didn't recognize.

All of a sudden, Amy heard several gasps. She turned around, seeing Alice Cooper decked out like she was still a Serpent, and saw red. She picked up her latest drink, a simple champagne flute, and marched across the venue.

"What the fuck are you trying to pull, Cooper?"

"Excuse me?" Alice demanded.

"You're not one of us anymore, Cooper, you dedicated your life to ruining ours. You don't get to suddenly wear it as a costume just to make a fucking statement."

"Excuse me?" Alice repeated.

"You're excused," Amy said, spinning on her heels. She saw Archie, and set towards him.

"Ames? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Veronica invited me. Why are you late?"

"Yeah, about that…" he chuckled nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Betty just dumped Jughead through me?"

"Shit. Dammit I need to get back over there—" she was cut off by a hand grabbing her arm.

"Cheryl's gone, and Nick went with her," Veronica said, before sprinting off with three other girls that Amy recognized as Josie and the Pussycats.

"Fuck. We'll finish this later," Amy told Archie, running off after the other two girls. The elevator doors closed before Archie got there, but she figured that he'd catch up with them.

"Get off of her," she heard Veronica yell, and saw her shove Nick off of the redhaired girl.

Trusting that the other girls had it covered, at least for a moment, Amy rushed towards the girl. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Cheryl stared at her blankly. "Who are you?"

"Amy. I'm a friend of Archie's. Are you okay?"

Cheryl shook her head, "I'd be better with his head on a spike."

"That can be arranged," Amy offered.

She had a knife out of her garter in seconds, and was about to dig it into that pretty little face of him when someone pulled her off.

"Get off," she hissed.

"Sorry Ames, but no. You're not killing anyone tonight."

"I can dispose of a body," she pointed out.

"You can—you know what, I'm not going to ask."

Amy pulled out her phone, seeing a message from Sweet Pea that the gauntlet was over. She replied immediately, with a request to be picked up.

"Do you guys have this covered?" She asked, surveying the room.

"We've got this. Thanks, Amy."

"No problem. Anyways, I'm out. Let me know if you need to get rid of him. Love you Red."

"Love you too," Archie replied.

Amy turned and ran down the hall, stepping into the elevator and back out into the party. She ordered another cosmo, downing it quickly, before she saw Sweet Pea approaching.

She rushed over to Fred, hugging him. "I've got to go. I love you."

"I love you, sweetheart," Fred told her, watching fondly as she rushed to the bike, climbing on behind Sweet Pea.

They took off and, after ignoring several speeding laws, pulled up outside of the Jones' trailer.

When they walked in, Toni had a first aid kit open, and appeared to be just starting to patch Jughead up.

"You survived," Amy said simply, trying to catch her breath. "I'm glad."

"Amethyst? Are you alright?"

"Nearly killed an attempted rapist, sprinted through the Five Seasons, and I'm pretty sure Sweets broke every traffic law in Riverdale, but I'm pretty sure I'm still doing better than you. How are you feeling?"  
"Sore," Jughead told her.

"Well, you're about to be more sore. Where do you want your tattoo?"

"Wait, you can do that?"

"I have a stick n poke kit, which should still be under the bathroom counter here. I can handle it."

"Oh. Um, in that case… upper arm?"

"You've got it," Amy agreed.

She went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, and grabbed the kit, heading back to the main room.

Toni continued to patch up the cuts on his face, while Amy got to work on the tattoo. She'd spent years learning, and had given a lot of Serpent tattoos in the past couple of years, and soon enough it was done, looking pretty perfect if she did say so herself.

"You're going to have a hard time hiding that from Betty," Toni told him.

"We broke up," Jughead admitted.

Not wanting to let him wallow, Amy tugged at the bottom of his shirt. He lifted his arms, wincing, and Amy pulled it over his head.

As soon as the skin was exposed, Amy grabbed a disinfectant wipe, cleaning up the various cuts. Once they had all been disinfected, she grabbed a handful of bandages, covering up the worst of them. She looked up at Jughead before going back to her task, pressing a soft kiss on every cut and bruise.

"What are you doing, Amethyst? I thought you hated me."

"I didn't hate you, I resented you. And I told you to ask me again after your initiation. Honestly, I don't think I ever hated you. I was jealous, and I lashed out. But you're one of us, Juggy."

"Besides," Sweet Pea chimed in, from where he and Fangs were sitting on the couch, "this is basically a part of initiation."

Amy flipped him off without looking, and went back to what she was doing. Soon enough, the two girls had finished, and Amy was leading Jughead to his room. She pushed him down gently, until he was sitting on the edge of his bed, and pulled him into a gentle kiss.

She felt him still for a moment, before kissing back. A hesitant hand settled on the base of her spine, while Amy wrapped a much more confident one in his hair. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the other three enter the room. The boys hung back, as they often did, but Toni joined them at the bed. Amy pulled away, drawing a soft whine from Jughead, and let Toni have a turn at kissing him.

When the other girl stepped back, Amy pushed at his shoulders again, even more carefully, guiding him until he was laying down on the bed, legs hanging over the edge.

"Before we do anything, I need you to consent. You in, Juggy?"

"I thought Sweet Pea said that it's part of initiation?"

"Jesus," Amy sighed, kissing his shoulder softly. "It's not actually, and it's definitely not mandatory. Sweets likes to joke that it's part of initiation because between me and Toni we've basically slept with every teen Serpent, usually immediately after their dance of the gauntlet. You're in, no matter what, Juggy. This is just fun."

"Oh… I mean, what are you thinking?"

Amy could almost hear his nerves, and pressed a kiss to his jaw before she spoke. "I don't actually fuck anyone outside of these guys," she explained, "but I was thinking that I could suck you off while you eat Toni out?"

"What about those two?" he asked, eyes drifting to Sweet Pea and Fangs.

"They can join if you want them to. They always stick around, just in case someone crosses a line, but they'll only participate if you want them to."

"I… I'm in. But maybe just you two? For now, at least?"

"Of course, Jug," Toni assured him, "you don't have to justify anything, alright? You want something, you just have to ask for it, and if you don't like something, say stop and we'll stop."

Jughead nodded, pushing himself up on his elbows to kiss both girls. Toni pushed him back gently, leaning over him for a deeper kiss.

While they made out, Amy kissed her way down Jughead's chest, leaving a string of red lipstick. She pulled his jeans and boxers down carefully, tapping on his thigh when she needed him to lift his hips. A quick glance up showed her that Toni had her jeans off as well, and that Jughead was pulling nervously at her hips until she was settled into a comfortable position. Amy never thought that she'd find nerves so adorable, but the blushing virgin look worked well on their newest member.

She pressed kisses to his thighs, teasing him for a bit before reaching her destination.

It wasn't long before he came, and Amy once again took a moment to appreciate the way his enthusiasm more than made up for his lack of experience, a sentiment which grew when she watched Toni come undone only moments later.

She let Jughead tug her up until she was lying beside him, with Toni on his other side, feeling a rush of fondness when he reached out to the other two boys, who took the hint and joined them. They curled together on the narrow bed, definitely not meant for five people, and it took no time at all before they were all falling asleep.

I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

While we're here, I want to take just a second to address how Amy (and the others, to a lesser extend) talk about Betty. This isn't a jealousy thing, it has nothing to do with Jughead whatsoever, it's just because of her mom being Alice Cooper. It's addressed in canon (S02E17) when the Serpents don't support Jughead running for student president with Betty because her mom is "Serpent enemy number one". I don't hate Betty, like, at all, but I will be exploring the canon hatred that Serpents have for the Cooper family, and how they try to balance that with the Betty that they actually get to know


	6. If They Lock Us Away

After a hot and heavy night, morning has rolled around and our five Serpents need to discuss exactly where they stand. Of course, as soon as that's taken care of, they have to deal with Ghoulies, raids, and races, each one worse than the last.

Chapter title is from Outlaws by Alessia Cara, which is also the song that I listened to while writing most of this!

NOTE: The sign language is not written as it would be in ASL, but I wanted to make it easier for all of you to follow

WARNING: police violence (the canon raid but worse), underage drug use (weed), implied underage sex, and just… the ghoulies being the ghoulies

 **(Cast Not your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

If They Lock Us Away (Then I'll Still Be Here)

Waking up wasn't the most comfortable thing, with five people sharing a cramped bed in a trailer with no air conditioner, but Amy was happy all the same. She was curled against Jughead's side, with one leg tossed over his, and Sweet Pea wrapped around her from behind—and thankfully Sweet Pea had had the foresight to change her into one of Jughead's shirts so that she wasn't still in her dress from the night before. She wasn't ready to get up, and instead tilted her head up, pressing kisses up and down Jughead's neck and jaw. She was careful to not leave any marks, knowing that they would have to go out in public later. They always skipped their morning classes after a Gauntlet, so Amy wasn't overly concerned about waking the others, deciding to move her kisses lower, covering her side of Jughead's torso.

She felt someone watching her and looked up, seeing Jughead smiling fondly at her.

"This is probably the nicest view I've ever woken up to," he told her softly, running a hand through her hair.

"Mornin, Juggy," she whispered, pressing another kiss to his jaw.

"Morning, Amethyst. Are you—"

"Are you going to ask me if I'm okay?" she asked.

"Well, yeah…" he admitted.

"I'm good, Juggy," she said, "I knew what I was doing, and I wanted to do it, and I have no regrets. You?"

"I mean, I'm definitely feeling the Gauntlet right now, but no regrets. Definitely no regrets."

"About joining the Serpents or hooking up?"

"Both. Neither. I don't regret any of it."

"Can either of you ever keep your mouths shut?" Fangs complained, from the other side of the bed.

"You love my mouth," Amy reminded him.

"I do. So, how about waking up the other two and getting something to eat?"

"Sounds good," Amy agreed, and Jughead nodded.

A couple of minutes later, they were all awake and getting dressed. Amy considered changing back into the dress, but instead settled on an oversized white t-shirt—whether it belonged to Jughead, FP, or one of her boys, she had no idea—which she tucked loosely into the waistband of the black skirt that Veronica had given her. Her black bra was visible under the shirt, and the tied the look together with a pair of fishnet tights and her usual boots.

Once they were all ready, they grabbed their respective jackets, and climbed on their bikes. They had let Jughead talk them into going to Pops, and soon enough they were parking, piling into the diner.

"Jughead, hey! And—Amy, was it? You're Fred's girl, right? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been away," Amy explained easily, letting Jughead lead them to his favourite booth. She sat pressed against the window, with Fangs and Sweet Pea beside her, Jughead across from her, and Toni next to him.

Although it was still technically morning, they all ordered milkshakes.

*"So, last night…" Jughead started.

"Was a PG-13 grope session."* Toni told him

"What were you guys up to when you were thirteen?" he asked, sounding almost distressed.

"Sex in the back of the Wyrm, mostly," Amy told him, shrugging.

Jughead looked like he was going to say something to that, but Toni cut him off.

*"Cards on the table, you're not over Betty,"* she told him

"Look, Jones, we're not exclusive, and the invite is always there, but there's no pressure. It's tradition—and more than that, it's fun, it feels good, and it makes us feel connected," Fangs explained.

"You want a good time, or just a good orgasm, we're always here, but you don't owe us anything," Sweet Pea added.

"Oh," Jughead said dumbly, "okay. That's… that's nice, actually."

"It is," Amy agreed.

Once their food arrived, they switched topics. Mostly they stuck to the basics, things that they should have already known; favourite books and movies, hobbies, and the like, but they did occasionally drift back to Serpent business.

They finished eating and returned to the Jones' trailer, where they finished getting ready for school; Jughead packing his bag, Fangs and Sweet Pea collecting their knives, and Amy and Toni fixing their makeup. They made it to school only a few minutes before lunch, so Amy gave her hearing aids to Sweet Pea and made her way to get changed for cheerleading, while Toni decided to skip and keep an eye on Jughead, given that it was his first day as an actual Serpent.

They practiced in the gym, as they usually did in the winter, but soon they were interrupted by a commotion in the hallways. They were dismissed and Amy, foolishly, went into the hallway to go find her friends.

She regretted it almost immediately, when she saw the cops storming the building. She turned and ran down a hallway, but froze. She could see Sweet Pea getting shoved against a locker, and turning towards a blur of pink, saw the same happening to Toni, and Fangs beside her.

"Toni!" She heard someone scream—she wasn't wearing her hearing aids, and the voice was faint, but she could see Jughead, pressed against the door, as Archie tried to pull him away—and what was he doing here?

She was jerked out of her thoughts when she was shoved roughly against a locker. She felt the press of cold metal against her bare arm, and wondered distantly if she was bleeding. She couldn't see the deputy, and turned to look, but the deputy shoved her face against the locker, and that time she was certain that she was bleeding; and she could only spare a brief moment to be grateful that it wasn't her eye, especially since she was wearing contacts not her glasses. She had caught a brief glimpse of her assaulter, and was relieved that it wasn't Sheriff Keller—how would she have explained that one to Kevin?

The cold bite of handcuffs pressed into her wrists, the wrong side of too tight, but Amy made no effort to fight back as she was dragged out of the door.

She looked to the side, seeing Archie but no Jughead. He clearly understood the look of panic on her face, signing reassurances that Jughead was fine, just hiding, and the last thing that she saw before the doors of the police van slammed shut was Archie pulling out his phone.

She looked around, and was both relieved and furious to see familiar faces all around her, although none of her partners were there. She could see that one of the deputies was talking, but she couldn't make out his words, and he was talking too fast for her to read his lips. She was still trying to figure out what he might have said when she felt the impact of a baton against her ribs, and tried not to gasp. Looking up, she realized that there was a second deputy and, although he was clearly talking to her, she had no idea what he was saying either. He must not have appreciated her blank stare, and she regretted giving her hearing aids to Sweet Pea when he whacked the baton against her ribs for a second time – and a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. She barely had time to hope that they would just bruise, not crack, when she was dragged roughly from the van and shoved to the floor of an already full cell. She almost cried in relief when suddenly Sweet Pea was kneeling beside her, lifting her carefully and setting her down in a corner that had clearly been claimed by Toni and Fangs.

A quick conversation, thankfully in ASL so that she could follow, explained that her hearing aid case had been confiscated as "evidence", and that his black eye was the result of trying to explain himself. She was quick to promise that she didn't blame him, leaning her head against his neck.

She was distantly aware of a deputy opening the cell door and saying, well, something, when suddenly she was ripped away from Sweet Pea and dragged off once again, this time to the Sheriff's office. She was pushed into a chair in front of his desk, and continued to stare blankly as he spoke. If she could think straight, she would at least try to explain that she didn't have her hearing aids, but her head was still fuzzy from hitting it on the concrete floor when she was shoved into the cell. After some time, which could have been a minute or an hour, she wouldn't know, the Sheriff seemed to give up, and the deputy was once again bringing her to the cell. They were just about to turn down the hall to the holding cells when she saw the door fly open and Fred Andrews storm in, with Archie and Jughead right behind her.

In just a few steps, he was right in front of her, crouching down until he could look her in the eyes.

" _Are you okay?"_ he signed. His movements were fluid but not rushed, giving her time to process what he was saying.

She laughed shakily, lifting her arms to show him the handcuffs that kept her from explaining, well, anything.

"Are you kidding me, Tom?" He demanded, and Amy was grateful that he spoke loudly and slowly, exaggerating his articulation in the way he always did when he wanted Amy to be able to follow a conversation.

She couldn't make out the Sheriff's words, but judging by the way Fred tensed and stood tall, it couldn't have been good.

"What the hell are you getting at, calling this insolence?"

Oh, apparently that's what he had said. Amy wanted to laugh, knowing that calling her insolent for not being able to hear was the fastest way to piss Fred off .

"Take her handcuff's off, Tom."

She saw the Sheriff shake his head, which didn't surprise her but clearly pissed Fred off.

"Take the goddamn handcuffs off of my daughter," he repeated, "I want to talk to her."

Keller said something, and suddenly the handcuffs were off. She watched, detached, as Jughead whispered something to Archie—probably about the "daughter" thing, before turning her attention back to Fred, who crouched in front of her again.

" _What happened?"_ He signed.

" _Raid at school,"_ she replied.

 _"And the cuts?"_

 _"Got pushed into a locker two times. Think I have a concussion from being thrown to the floor, and my ribs are bruised or cracked. They didn't like when I didn't answer them."_

 _"And your hearing aids?"_

 _"Sweet Pea had them. Says they were taken as evidence and he got a black eye for trying to explain."_

 _"I'll take care of this,"_ he promised, and Amy believed him. If there was one thing that she could always count on, it was that Fred would always take care of her.

"So, Tom, why exactly is my daughter telling me that she might have a concussion and either bruised or cracked ribs from your deputies?"

Once again, Amy couldn't tell what the answer was, but she was filled with smug satisfaction as she watched him stammer through whatever bullshit he was coming up with—and, judging from the looks on Fred, Archie, and Jughead's faces, it was definitely bullshit.

"For not answering? Are you kidding me? Of course she's not answering you, Tom, you took her fucking hearing aids. Apparently Sweet Pea, the tall boy with a neck tattoo, had them in his pocket and the case was confiscated as evidence."

She spaced out for the rest of the conversation, but soon her hearing aids were being pressed into her hands, and she rushed to put them in. She had no idea what had happened, but soon they were all being released, and she was suddenly surrounded on all sides; first by Jughead and the Andrews' but soon her partners were joining them. Jughead kept an arm around her shoulders while he hugged the other three, but Amy knew that she wouldn't feel safe as long as she was around the deputies, so she took it upon herself to drag them all outside.

Archie pulled her into a tight hug, murmuring apologies into her hair.

"What are you sorry for?" She asked, confused.

"I didn't protect you. I couldn't find you until it was too late."

"That's not your fault, Red. I was at cheer practice, we were let out early because of the commotion. But, um, speaking of cheer, could we go somewhere warmer? I'm fucking freezing here."

Jughead immediately wrapped his Serpent jacket around her, and as she went to zip it up, she noticed the angry bruises that were already covering the skin that her shirt left exposed.

"Do you think you can drop us back at school? I really want to get into some actual clothes, and Sweets has his car so we can go home afterwards."

"School? Sweetheart, you need a hospital," Fred told her.

"No," Amy told him immediately, "not the hospital. No hospitals."

Fred sighed. His instinct was telling him that she should see a doctor, but he was all too familiar with Amy's fear of doctors, and the trauma that had caused it.

"Fine. But you need to rest, and take care of yourself like you have a concussion and cracked ribs. No screens or strenuous activity. Got it?"

"Of course. Thanks, dad."

"Sorry, can I just—dad? And you called her your daughter?"

"Fred adopted me when I was nine," Amy explained. "My dad died about a year before, and FP couldn't take me in—he already had you and Jellybean to look after—so he convinced Fred to at least come to the Sisters and meet me, and the adoption process started that day. I was there for close to a year before everything got finalized, but yeah, technically, legally speaking, Fred's my dad."

"I didn't know that," Jughead said.

"It wasn't any of your business."

"And it is now?"

"Well I wasn't going to lie about it, and yeah, I guess it is. You're one of us now, Jug, and that means that you should know the facts."

He nodded in understanding, before climbing into the bed of the Andrews' truck, along with the other Serpents. Archie lifted Amy into the front, sliding in beside her, and reaching around her to buckle her seatbelt.

"Overkill, much? I can do up my own seatbelt, Red."

"I couldn't protect you, Ames, at least let me take care of you."

If it were anyone else, Amy would have scoffed, but this was Archie, looking at her so earnestly, so instead she just nodded.

They got out of the truck when they reached Southside High, the other Serpents hopping out of the bed, and Amy took a moment to hug Fred—Archie had asked to stay with them, and Amy couldn't deny him. It was an undeniably bad idea to have him on the Southside, but she knew that Archie would be blaming himself for not protecting her, just like he still blamed himself for not protecting Fred from being shot, and she couldn't bring herself to let him dwell on that alone. Once the truck was pulling out of the parking lot, the five entered the school, grabbing their bags from lockers, and Toni accompanied Amy to the girls' locker room, where she grabbed her duffle bag and started to change.

"Jesus, babe," Toni said, looking at her ribs.

Amy looked down, and immediately understood Toni's reaction. Her ribs were covered in fresh bruises, a horrifying array of red and purple covering most of her torso. She took a deep breath, as deep as she could with the splitting pain in her chest, and went back to getting changed. The pain was impossible to deny, but if she ignored it then she could pretend that the whole raid was just a bad dream. She took her time fixing her hair and makeup, needing her personal war paint more than usual, and pulled her jacket on. She felt safer immediately, like she was wearing armour, and she and Toni went back into the hall to join the boys.

"We need to deal with the Ghoulie part of this," Amy told them, as soon as they were all together. "They deal JJ, we need to make this hellhole off limits."

"And how do we do that?" Jughead asked.

"We go straight to the top," Amy shrugged. "Sweets, if you get us to their turf, I can get us in. Or at least, I can get me and Jug in, the rest of you might want to stay in the Jeep a few blocks out."

"Doll—"

"You don't want to leave me unprotected on Ghoulie territory, I get it. But it's not like I'm unarmed. I can handle this."

Sweet Pea sighed, agreeing reluctantly. Sweet Pea shot her one last questioning look when they got into the car, but she nodded firmly, and he took off. He dropped them off right outside of Ghoulie headquarters, before driving off to, hopefully, lurk a few blocks away.

Amy knocked confidently on the door. A window slid open, revealing a man who, upon seeing Amy, opened the door.

"Chris," she greeted easily, strolling right down the hall.

Jughead looked around, taking in the smell of weed and tobacco, and of melting plastic. They passed by several rooms, and he noticed that every door had been replaced with beads, and every room that he looked into shared the same deep crimson and skull theme as the hallway. It was alarming to realize just how unaffected Amy was by the whole thing, but he told himself that she must have dealt with them before, if FP had been training her to take over after him.

Amy pushed aside another curtain of beads, and he followed her nervously down the narrow staircase.

"Fancy seeing you here, kid," Tall Boy said, looking at Jughead, "take a seat."

Amy turned around quickly, "Tall Boy? What are you doing here?"

"Business to discuss," he told her dismissively.

"Can someone tell me what's going on? Where are we?"

"This is my house," a new voice spoke, as a man stepped out of the shadows, "The House of the Dead."

"And who the hell are you?" Jughead demanded, finally noticing the dark haired man.

He looked young, Jughead would bet he was in his late twenties, and his shirt was open, but Jughead had a feeling that he might be the most dangerous person in the room. He or Amethyst, if it came down to it.

"Relax, Jug. He's who we came to see. Malachai is the leader of the Ghoulies."

"Aw, Princess, you came all this way just to see me?" Malachai teased, approaching the girl.

"Like Tall Boy said, business to discuss. Although I certainly don't trust him to be speaking for the Serpents."

"And here I thought you missed me."

"Come on, Mal, there are way better ways to catch up, that don't involve Tall Boy or your enforcers."

"Mal? Wait, are you friends with this guy?" Jughead demanded.

"We… have an understanding," Amy explained.

"They jumped me, Amethyst!"

"Wow, Princess, you let him use the full name? Guess he must be good for something, then. Listen kid, you think that the leader of the Ghoulies gives a shit about what some kids do? I didn't even find out until later, but you know teenagers. Desperate to prove themselves."

"None of this is the point," Amy reminded everyone, and Jughead was once again shocked by how at ease she was in a room full of enemies. "Mal, you've got to get your guys to stop dealing JJ at my school."

"And why would I do that? Business is business, Princess, and there's a profit to be made in that dump."

"Because, Mal, me and mine just got taken in by the cops during some raid, because they suspected us of dealing, and your guys got off scot free. They only targeting Serpent jackets. I've never stopped you from doing your thing, but it's putting my people in danger."

"Funny you should mention that. See, I just got an offer to merge," Malachai told her, nodding towards Tall Boy.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Amy demanded, turning to stare down her fellow Serpent.

*"The heat is on us and our ranks are depleted. Our tribes need to unite," Tall Boy explained.

"Tall Boy, they're the reason Southside was even raided. Them and their jingle jangle."

"Chaos is how we thrive," Malachai said, "You'd better get used to it."*

"Are you serious right now, Tall Boy?" Amy asked.

"You're supposed to be my dad's right hand," Jughead reminded him.

*"The Northside declared war today. Your old man ain't here to call the shots. And yeah, I'm his right hand. That makes me defacto leader here and now,"* Amy scoffed. *"So things are changing, Jones. Either you change with them or suffer the consequences."

Malachai chucked, leaning back in his chair. "Evolve or die, baby, evolve or die."*

"Let me guess, Tall Boy, you wanted to get Jughead on your side so that we'd be in disagreement, and you could finally undermine my standing, right?"

Tall Boy shrugged, unconcerned. "And what of it, princess?" he sneered, and Jughead came to a shocking realization.

He realized that, while Malachai and Tall Boy both called Amy princess, Malachai made it sound respectful, unlike Tall Boy's mocking. He wasn't sure what it meant that the leader of a rival gang showed her more respect than her fellow Serpent, but it gave him a bad feeling.

"You're a goddamn traitor, is what of it," Amy told him, sounding both furious and patronizing. "I'm going to clean up this fucking mess, but Mal? Don't do anything until I say so."

"Of course, Princess. With the king gone, the heiress has more power than the right hand."

Amy smiled at him, appreciative and dismissive all in one, turning on her feel and dragging Jughead after her. He hadn't seen her take out her phone once, but she must have, as Sweet Pea was just pulling around the corner to pick them up.

"We need to talk to FP," Amy declared, taking her usual seat in the front.

"You got it," Sweet Pea agreed, shifting the car into gear and driving off, away from the House of the Dead.

They pulled into the prison parking lot. It had been decided that only a few of them should go in at once, so Amy, Archie, and Jughead got out of the car, stopping briefly to sign in.

"Hey FP, your girl is here," one of FP's inmates said, seeing Amy approach.

"His girl?" Jughead asked, disgusted.

"Oh my god ew not like that, Jug. I'm pretty sure that everyone here thinks I'm his daughter, is all." Jughead looked relieved, following her to the window.

"Amethyst? What happened to you?" FP asked as soon as he saw them.

"Raid," she told him, "some deputies didn't like that I wasn't answering, even though they'd taken my fucking hearing aids. Got a concussion and some fucked up ribs to show for it too."

"And Jug? The jacket?"

"You can scold him later, FP, but that's not actually what we need to talk to you about."

"Lay it out for me," he told them, and Jughead did exactly that, starting with their desire to stop the jingle jangle dealing at the school before finally explaining Tall Boy's scheme.

"Sounds to me like you need to take this straight to the Ghoulies, claim your turf once and for all, and shut him down."

"How do we do that?" Archie asked.

"Look, kids, *if there's one thing Ghoulies love, it's their crazy souped-up retro cars and hearses. You catch my Riverdale drift? Challenge them to a street race, one-on-one. But keep it on the DL, it's illegal. It'll get you locked up."*

"Well, I've had enough of that for one day," Amy sighed.

*"Set the terms of the race. Their guy wins, the Serpents roll over—"

"But if we win, the Ghoulies back off," Jughead concluded.

"And maybe you raise the stakes," FP continued, "whoever wins controls Southside High."

"We get rid of the Ghoulies and get rid of the jingle-jangle and get McCoy off our back," he realized.*

"Permission to be Jughead's second?" Amy asked.

Jughead had never seen her ask for permission before, but quickly remembered that FP was more than a father figure to her, he was still her king.

"Permission denied, Adams. You just told me that you have a concussion, and you can't even drive to begin with."

"Yeah, but he needs a second. And Sweet Pea's depth perception is a bit fucked, he got a black eye in the raid and I think a blood vessel might've popped."

"I'll do it," Archie offered.

"No offence, Red, but you're not a Serpent."

"No, but I have a lot of experience in having Jug's back."

Amy looked to FP, unwilling to make a decision without him.

"It's not ideal, but it should be fine," he told them.

"Fine. Guess we've got to get back to the House of the Dead."

They said their goodbyes, getting back into the car, and Sweet Pea drove them back to the lair. Jughead whispered to Archie, asking why he'd stopped complaining about leaving Amy unattended, and Archie filled him in on what had happened when he and Amy were dealing with the Ghoulies.

"Toni. She reminded him that taking more people would make her either look weak or like she was declaring war," he whispered, "he didn't like it but I guess he got it? I mean, none of this makes sense to me, but I guess they've done this before."

"They definitely have," Jughead agreed.

"Alright, Red, you're coming with us this time. I don't like bringing more than a plus-one, but you're his second so you have to be there."

Archie followed them into the House of the Dead; he and Jughead were both visibly nervous, looking over their shoulders at every turn, but Amy walked the halls like she owned them. They descended the stairs once again, and Amy surveyed the room.

"Tall Boy, still here? Good. So, Mal, my boys here wanna challenge you to a race."

"Not you?" Malachai asked, stepping closer.

"Now, now, Mal," Amy teased, flicking him on the cheek with a jingle jangle straw that she grabbed off of the table. "You know a princess doesn't need to do her own dirty work."

' _Mal?'_ Archie mouthed to Jughead, who could only shrug.

"If we win, Serpents stay independent, and you quit dealing at school."

Malachai raised an eyebrow, "And if we win?"

*"We fold and you can continue polluting Southside with your little straws of death," Jughead told him.*

"So the little princeling does have a pair," Malachai taunted. "Not much else though. Don't see much in it for me. Unless you *want to put some of Daddy's territory on the table, I got no reason to agree to a race."*

Amy was about to speak, when another Ghoulie—the one that Amy had called Chris—came down the stairs, pushing Betty and Veronica in front of him.

*"They were following me," he explained, "tried to get in the garage."

"Veronica?" "Betty?" "Archie?" "Jughead?" the four spoke at once, "what are you doing here?"

"Wait," Malachai said, "so these are your bitches?"

"I bed your misogynistic pardon?" Veronica demanded.

Chris stepped closer to the two girls, and Amy saw Betty reach into her purse, pulling out a silver cannister.

"Are you kidding me, Northside?" Amy demanded, pushing her way between the girls and Chris. "Mace? Do you want to get shanked, is that it?"

Betty opened her mouth, but Amy cut her off.

"Save it, Northside, I don't give a shit. This isn't your turf, or your business, so step the fuck down," she watched both girls deflate, and made her way back to Malachai, "Mal, that was pretty fucking sexist, but whatever. The race?"

*"Until you make me a better offer, there'll be no race," he told her.

"If you win, we'll give you the Whyte Wyrm," Jughead offered, "you can expand your drug-dealing horizons and upgrade out of this literal hellhole."

"We'll take the Wyrm and Sunnyside Trailer Park," Malachai told him,* and to Amy's fury, Jughead nodded.

"We have a deal, Mal?" she asked, reminding herself that she couldn't punch Jughead in front of this crowd, and that it wasn't entirely his fault for overstepping.

"We have a deal," Mal told her. He stepped closer to Amy, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You want some JJ, Princess? For a deal made in good faith?"

Archie's jaw dropped, and his fists clenched, watching the easy tactility between his little sister and the dangerous gang leader, but Amy didn't flinch.

"Absolutely not, Mal, you know I'm not into the hard stuff," Amy pulled away.

"Of course not," he agreed, "the princess is above gutter drugs. Weed?"

"You do always have the best," Amy said, tapping her fingers up his bare chest.

"Chris, get some of our top shelf merch—how much?" he cut himself off, looking back down at Amy.

"Dangerous question, Mal."

"It is. Chris, get her an ounce of our best."

Amy's smirk turned to a genuine smile, "your hospitality is as impressive as ever. Well, that or you're just so confident that you'll win that you want to win me over."

"Why can't it be both, Princess?"

"Of course it can. Now if you'll give me a moment, I have some business to take care of."

Malachai gestured at the room, "be my guest."

Amy turned around, facing the Northsiders and Serpents. "Okay, first of all, Tall Boy, never try to go behind my back to make a deal again. It's not fucking happening. Now get the fuck out of here. Cooper, Veronica, you too. I don't know what the fuck you're even doing on Ghoulie territory, but it ends now." She stared at the three of them, not blinking until they had all turned tail and left. "Good," she clapped her hands, "now where's Chris? I've had a shit day and need a hit."

"Sorry, Princess," Malachai shrugged, "he'll be back soon."

Amy nodded, pulling out her phone. By the time she put it away, Chris was coming down the stairs, handing her a plain black jar.

"You measured it?" Malachai asked, getting a nod in return, "Good. Don't want the princess thinking we're stingy or anything."

"I know you're stingy, Mal," Amy reminded him "just not about your merch. Now we've got to go, but I'll see you tomorrow at the starting point."

"Until next time, Princess."

Amy led the boys outside, where she saw the Northside girls standing right outside of the door.

"I thought I told you to get out of here," Amy told them.

"We're not Serpents," Betty argued, "You don't get to boss us around."

"You're on my side of town, interfering with my ability to take care of my own, I get to tell you what to do. Red, you said you know a guy who can lend you his car, right?"

"Reggie Mantle, yeah."

"Good, head back to the Northside with these two and take care of it. And take Jug with you."

"Amethyst—"

"Not kicking you out, Jug," she explained, "just want you to get some practice driving it. I'll text you where to meet in the morning."

Jughead nodded, "alright, let's go," he told the other three, herding them away from the Ghoulie's lair.

Only moments after they turned the corner, the Jeep pulled up, and Amy climbed in. She quickly filled the others in on what had transpired, watching the streets pass them by until they were parking outside of the Jones trailer.

"Not a long stop, but I know you two need the right clothes for this race. Grab them and we can head out," Sweet Pea explained.

Amy nodded, unlocking the trailer door. She dug through the drawer of their clothes, until she was certain that she had the perfect outfit—Sweet Pea was right, after all, she and Toni would have all eyes on them, and they needed to look just right.

Before they left, Amy rummaged through cupboard under the bathroom sink, digging out her full makeup bag. She didn't usually bother, but again, the race was something different.

They got back into the car, and Sweet Pea drove to his trailer.

"Mom's got some stint in Centerville this week, she won't know," he said.

The three nodded in understanding, Sweet Pea's mom hated that he was a Serpent, but she also regularly worked odd jobs out of town, and those were the nights when Sweet Pea—and the others, of course—could actually stay there.

Even though they hadn't even had dinner, Amy fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed, the pain and exhaustion from the day's events overwhelming her.

She didn't wake up until the next morning, and the first thing that she noticed was just how badly her ribs hurt. Forcing herself to ignore the pain, she climbed over Sweet Pea to get out of bed, entering the living room. She winced with every step, but quickly changed into the clothes that she had lain out on the couch the previous day. First she pulled on her black jean shorts, with open laces all the way up the sides, and then, after consideration, decided not to bother with her shirt, instead pulling her jacket on over her black bra. She wanted everyone to see the bruises, which looked even worse than the day before, and know exactly why she had them. Once dressed, she grabbed her makeup bag and made her way to the bathroom, perfecting her high ponytail and carefully applying a full face of makeup—they were going to war, and she needed to look every bit the Serpent Princess she was.

She buckled on her hip holster, checking to make sure that her weapons were in place. She trusted Malachai to keep his word, but she didn't trust the rest of the Ghoulies to do the same while he was driving.

By the time she was done, Toni was awake and getting ready. Like Amy, every piece of her outfit was strategic, designed to remind everyone that she was not someone to fuck with. While Toni went to the bathroom to do her own makeup, Amy busied herself with making sure that all of her jewelry was exactly how it should be. She slid her silver ear cuff, shaped like a snake of course, over her ear, where it pressed against her hearing aids. Her eyebrow piercing, a half ring with studs on the top and bottom of her eyebrow, hadn't come off, so she quickly moved on. Her silver dagger shaped earrings were always annoying to position, which is why she saved them for special occasions, and her brown leather wrist cuff, also a snake, was easy to slide on, as was the black snake tooth necklace that she always wore.

"Ready for war?" Fangs asked, and Amy turned to see him leaning against the doorway.

"How long have you been there?" She asked.

"Long enough to watch the whole routine. So, ready?"  
"As ready as I can be, I guess."

"Hey, Jones has this covered," he reassured her.

"I hope so, Fangs, I hope so."

She heard an angry growl, which she took to mean that not only had Sweet Pea woken up, but that he had also seen the violent bruising that covered her torso.

"I'm going to kill Keller," he told her as he approached, running careful hands over the bruises.

"It wasn't him, Sweets, it was the deputies."

"You shouldn't ride today—"

"I shouldn't," she agreed, "but you know that I have to. The bruises make a statement, but if I can't ride, I look weak."

Sweet Pea sighed, "fine. But you're letting me carry you to Jones' trailer to get the bikes."

"Deal," she said reluctantly. She knew that he was right, but god she hated to feel helpless.

The boys required much less work to get ready, both simply wearing dark jeans and shirts under their jackets, so they were out of the door soon enough, meeting Jughead at his trailer.

"Archie is bringing the car," he explained, "I thought it would look better if I showed up on my bike."

"Absolutely," Amy agreed. "And how is the car?"

"It's good—Betty made some improvements."

"So are you and Cooper?"

"We're working on it," he said.

Amy nodded stiffly, turning away and climbing onto her bike.

Jughead opened his mouth, but a quick shake of Toni's head had him closing it, and instead joined the others in turning on their bikes, taking off out of the park.

He wasn't familiar with the area, not the way that the others seemed to be, but he knew it well enough. He and Archie had done a few laps the night before, getting ready for the race.

They climbed off of their bikes, and Jughead noticed that the Ghoulies were already there, although Archie wasn't yet.

"Damn, Princess, what happened to you?" Although Malachai was clearly teasing, Jughead could hear a note of concern that he wasn't ready to question.

"This is what happens when the pigs blame us for your boys pushing JJ at school," Amy told him.

Malachai was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Archie arriving, followed by another car that Jughead recognized as Betty's.

By the time he got over to them, Amy was already there.

"What are a bunch of Northsiders doing at a Southside race?" she asked, voice colder than he'd ever heard her before.

"It's my car," Reggie told her.

"Fine, that's fair. But the rest of you? Cooper, Lodge, I told you yesterday that this was Southside business. Veronica, I get wanting to support your boyfriend, but Cooper? You dumped Jug when he became one of us, you don't have a place here. No offence Kev, but until Joaquin is back, most of the people here won't want to see you. Especially after what your dad and his goon squad pulled yesterday. And Blossom? God, you guys don't fucking get this shit, do you? You're not welcome or wanted here."

"What do you mean, what my dad pulled?"

"What, Red didn't tell you about the raid?" Amy paused, before deciding that she didn't owe any of them an explanation. "Never mind."

She crossed the field until she was standing next to Malachai again, Archie following close behind. She watched, annoyed, while Jughead had some sort of whispered conversation, before finally coming to stand with them.

"Well thanks for joining us, Jones. Everyone is good with the rules? Race over the bridge to Dead Man's Curve, first team back wins."

Both teams nodded, moving to get the cars to the starting line. She watched as the Blossom girl interrupted Toni, and rushed over as fast as her ribs would allow.

"And what, pray tell, are you doing?" She asked.

"Apparently she thinks that she should do the honours," Toni scoffed.

"Yeah, no," Amy said firmly.

*"I was born for this moment,"* Cheryl said, and Amy was ready to punch the smug smirk off of her face.

"Stand down, Blossom. Toni does the honours. Unless you want me to tell Malachai over there," she gestured to the Ghoulie, "to hit you."

She stared, unflinching, until Cheryl blinked.

"Fine. You goddamn psycho," she hissed, storming off to sit beside Kevin on the second Northside car.

"Wasn't that a bit extreme?" Toni asked.

Amy paused, "Probably. Look, I'm pissed off, and Jones fucking offered up the Wyrm and Sunnyside without even asking me, and if we don't win then we lose absolutely everything. So maybe I'm a little on edge, and maybe I shouldn't have jumped straight to murder as a solution, but I'm not going to apologize to her."

Toni didn't push, knew that Amy was scared and in pain and lashing out. Instead, she gave the shorter girl a quick kiss, and stepped out in front of the cars.

Amy stepped backwards, joining Sweet Pea and Fangs by their bikes, and soon Toni had started the race.

"Sweets, up?" Amy asked.

"Of course." Sweet Pea crouched down, letting her climb onto his back. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it in front of the crowd, but he knew that her ribs had to be really bugging her if she was willingly asking for help.

Suddenly, way too soon for the race to be over, Jughead and Archie were pulling the car to a stop in front of them, jumping out. Amy could hear a distant noise, but couldn't tell what it was.

*"Everyone scatter, the cops are rounding up Ghoulies!"* She heard someone yell, she didn't recognize the Ghoulie, which she knew meant that he wasn't very high up the totem pole.

*"You called the cops?" Tall Boy demanded, rounding on Jughead. "You won't throw in with the Ghoulies, but you will with cops? Where's the honour in that?"*

Cops, she realized, sirens. That's what she was hearing. Her breathing picked up, and she dropped down from Sweet Pea's back, ready to get on her bike and get as far away as possible.

*"Calm down, Tall Boy," Jughead said, "You think I knew Keller would be there?"

"I called Keller," Archie said,* and Amy's terror was overtaken by rage, storming over to the boy.

"Are you serious, Red? After the shit they pulled yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" Archie asked, and god, Amy was getting tired of his naïveté.

Amy opened her jacket, showing off every single bruise, "This is what Keller and his pigs do to Southsiders, Red. Ghoulie, Serpent, guilty, innocent? That doesn't matter. We're from the wrong side of the tracks, so we deserve whatever shit they want to dish out."

"I'm sorry, Ames, I didn't think—"

"No, you didn't think. You didn't think today, like Jones didn't think about offering up the Wyrm. Like Cooper and Veronica didn't think before trying to break into Ghoulie territory yesterday. None of you ever fucking think, and I always have to clean up your fucking messes. We can talk some other time, Red, but right now I need to get the fuck out of here before any deputies show up and decide that they're in the mood for a repeat of yesterday."

Amy didn't wait before climbing on her bike, and taking off. She knew that the other three would be right behind her, they always were, and all she cared about was getting away.

She pulled to a stop in front of Southside High, storming through the doors before remembering that the school day was almost over, and that she didn't even have her bag.

She saw a deputy uniform, and quickly ducked around the corner, bumping into Lottie.

"What's going on?" She heard Jughead ask. How did she not realize that Jughead had been with them the whole time?

"They caught the Sugarman," Lottie told them.

Amy didn't relax, but looked around the corner. She could hear the others gasp, and felt herself gasp too, when she saw Mr. Phillips being escorted out.

She was frozen in shock, even as Sweet Pea guided her out of the building. She climbed on her bike and drove to the Jones trailer with nothing but muscle memory alone.

She collapsed onto the couch, laughing hysterically.

"Jesus Christ, someone please tell me that this was all a hallucination from the fumes in Mal's den?"

"I wish," Fangs told her, sitting beside her and tugging her onto his lap.

"Red called the fucking cops, Mal is probably in jail right now, and Mr. Phillips was the fucking Sugarman?"

Toni nodded, and Amy let out another hysterical laugh.

"Well, Sweets," she said finally, "looks like your gut was right. You knew something was sketch with him."

"Let's talk about the race first," he said, and Amy knew not to argue.

"Right. So. T, what are people saying?"

"They're torn," she turned to Jughead, *"Some people give you props for challenging the Ghoulies and beating them. Others hate that you cut a deal with Keller because it puts us in bed with the pigs."

"I didn't," he said, "that was Archie."

"Yeah, I know that and you know that, but some of them don't.* Besides, you brought him into the race, you're accountable for his actions."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Juggy?" Betty called.

"That's our cue to leave," Amy said immediately.

She stood, as quickly as her ribs allowed, and opened the door, pushing past the Cooper girl without a glance. Her partners followed her, and the four of them returned to Sweet Pea's trailer.

"So, what's bothering you?" Amy asked, once they were sitting in his bed, tucked away from the outside world.

"I knew something was off about Phillips, and I did nothing," he said, "I let a threat near you guys because I didn't listen to my gut."

"It's not your fault," Amy reassured him.

"But—"

"No buts. Amy is right," Fangs agreed, reaching over the girls to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey babe?" Toni asked.

"Yeah, T?"

"Didn't you say that Malachai gave you some weed yesterday?"

"I did say that," Amy grinned, "hold on, it's just in my pocket."

She dug the container out of her holster, and Toni grabbed the bowl from Sweet Pea's bedside counter. Malachai had, as always, had the weed ground for her, and it wasn't long before they were passing the bowl between them, filling the room with a haze of smoke and laughter. It wasn't long before clothes were coming off, in between languid kisses. It wasn't rushed the way it was the night before, from leftover anxiety, but rather it was slow, careful, stemming from the need to reassure themselves that they were all together, all in one piece.

I hope you enjoyed! This chapter was really fun to write, and I hope fun to read! I decided to make Malachai into more of an anti-hero than a villain, although after getting arrested, who knows what'll happen (well, technically I know…)


	7. Time Has Found You Out

Living without sin is hard for anyone, but especially if you're a Serpent, you're brother and his best friend have been roped into a drug run, your friend is a literal witch, and you have to visit the leader of a rival gang in prison. Sorry Black Hood, Riverdale never stood a chance.

Chapter title is from Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

NOTE: Sabrina (from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) is mentioned, but this is not a crossover, and you don't need to have watched the show to understand (I haven't even finished it yet lmao). All you need to know is that she's a witch and she and Amy are lowkey bros

WARNING: Malachai being Malachai, but that's about it

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

Time Has Found You Out

A week had passed since the street race debacle, and Amy was finally back on speaking terms with Archie, although her relationship with Jughead had been strained since he and Betty got back together that night. Despite the tension, Amy was sprawled on the Jones' couch, head in Sweet Pea's lap, feet thrown over Jughead's, the position she'd been in since school ended, when Toni and Fangs slammed the door open.

"What's up, Tiny?" Sweet Pea asked, getting a glare for the nickname.

"What's up? What's up is that the Black Hood just called Pop's fucking choc'lit shop and said that if everyone in Riverdale could go one day without sinning, he'd stop killing."

"I mean, he's only actually killed one person," Amy pointed out, "and there's no way that we can live without sinning."

"Yeah, least of all today," Jughead scoffed.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, sitting up quickly.

"Penny Peabody."

"What about Peabody?"

"She's calling in a favour," Jughead explained.

"You fucking… you made the deal with her, didn't you? Right after Fred got shot? The one I specifically told you not to make?"

"Yeah, I did. I know it was dumb, but god, Amethyst, Fred had just been shot. I couldn't handle the thought of my dad going away for good."

Amy sighed, taking one of Jughead's hands in hers. "I know, Jughead, I get it. I don't think I can get you out of this one, but I'll make sure that she knows you're off limits from now on."

"How can you do that?"

Amy's soft smile turned sharp, dangerous, with just a glint of her canines. "Safer not to ask," she said.

Jughead blinked, clearing his throat loudly. "Right, well um… She wants me to make a delivery to Greendale. Archie said he'd come with, so we can load the crate in the truck."

"Of course he's involved. Okay, hold on." She typed away at her phone, and waited for a moment. "He's on his way. So, where's the drop?"

Jughead rattled off an address, which Amy was certain would be some empty warehouse, and she typed it into her phone.

Archie arrived shortly after, sitting in the empty kitchen chair.

"So, what's going on?" He asked.

"I heard about your delivery. Look, the Snake Charmer is good at what she does, and I'm not letting her get her claws into you. Either of you."

"So what's your plan?"

"I already told Jughead, I don't think that I can get her to call this one off—I don't have that kind of cash on hand right now—but I know her tricks. First of all, you both need to not dress like yourselves. No Serpent jacket, no varsity jacket, and for god's sake Red, cover your hair. See if you can grab a sweater from Fred, and maybe a jean jacket. Jughead, absolutely no beanie. Baseball caps for both of you—Red, I know you still have some from Little League."

"I do," Archie agreed. "Is that it?"

"No, it's not. Look, knowing Peabody, whoever is picking up the delivery knows your names already, so you need to come up with fake names and backstories, and stick with them. Don't talk to anyone, just drop it and go, but if anyone does use your names, or you run into any strangers on the way, give them your fake names. If it's at the drop, say that there was a change of plans. And most importantly, Greendale isn't Riverdale."

"Well yeah, obviously not," Jughead agreed.

"No, I mean… Greendale is something else entirely. It's history is way older and way darker than Riverdale's. On a normal night, it's more dangerous than Riverdale ever has or ever could be. If you run into trouble, or you feel like something is off, send me a text. I've got a girl in Greendale who can look out for you."

"You do?" Archie asked.

"Her name is Sabrina," Amy explained. "We met over the summer, she was researching the history of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy while I was there. She's… dangerous, but I trust her."

The boys both nodded, so Amy grabbed her phone to message the girl in question.

 **Snake Bitch:** _hey sabrina- my boys have been roped into some shady shit in greendale, can you be on call in case shit goes south?_

 **Witchy Bitch:** _yeah sure, just having a movie night with the girls, shouldn't be hard to ditch if you need. Is this the sort of shit where you might need some footage destroyed?_

 **Snake Bitch:** _holy shit can you do that?_

 **Witchy Bitch:** _of course I can. Give me the address and I'll take care of it_

 **Snake Bitch:** _you're the best!_

She sent the address to the other girl, relieved to know that someone would be looking out for them if she couldn't be, and she didn't need to ask to know that neither boy would agree to letting her come with them.

"Okay, she knows you'll be there. She's going to stay available, so for real, if anything sketch happens, let me know."

"We will, Ames, I promise. We should probably head back to my place to sort out our outfits though, right?"

Amy nodded, "Yeah, you definitely should. Text me when you leave, when you get there, and as soon as you get back, okay?"

Both boys agreed, so Amy hugged Archie goodbye, and they all left. The two boys towards the Northside, and the partners towards the Wyrm.

"Oh shit," Amy hissed, coming to a realization.

"What's wrong?" Fangs asked, eyes scanning the area for a threat.

"I've been meaning to go and visit Malachai. I've been putting it off to let him cool down, and to let my ribs get a bit better, but I really should go."

The other three looked at each other. None of them knew exactly how close Amy was with the Ghoulie, or how it had happened, and none of them had ever asked. A quick wordless conversation confirmed that none of them wanted to be the one to ask, so instead Sweet Pea sat back on his bike.

"I'll ride over with you," he told the girl.

"Thanks, Sweets. T, tell Hog Eye I'll be late?"

"Of course," Toni agreed.

"Ride or die," Amy told them, starting her bike back up.

"Ride or die," they replied in unison.

Moments later, Amy and Sweet Pea were driving across town to the prison, pulling to a stop in their usual spots.

Amy signed in while Sweet Pea took a seat in the waiting area.

Malachai appeared almost immediately after she sat down, picking up the phone with a sneer.

"What, so the princess finally decides to visit little old me?"

"I've been recovering from cracked ribs and a concussion, Mal, getting here wasn't exactly an option."

"Or you thought that calling the cops would mean that you were rid of me and now you feel guilty?"

"What the fuck, Mal? I didn't call them."

"This is exactly the kind of trick you'd come up with."

"Okay, it sort of is," Amy admitted, "but not with the fucking pigs! Especially not a day after that fucking raid."

"Well then who did?" the Ghoulie demanded.

"Andrews," Amy insisted, "he fucking admitted it in front of everyone, ask your boys."

"So what, you just told him to do it?"

"I didn't have anything to do with this, Mal. The race was FP's idea, Jones insisted on having Andrews as his second, and he didn't even ask me before offering up the Wyrm of Sunnyside. Why would they suddenly care about my opinion on this?"

Malachai looked surprised for a moment, before shaking his head. "I don't believe that for a second, Princess. I know you, and underhand schemes are your thing. Just," he waved a dismissive hand, "get the fuck out of here, and don't come back. You're dead to me, you hear? Dead."

Amy blinked. "Mal?"

"You heard me, Princess."

With that, the Ghoulie hung up the phone and walked away from the window, and Amy barely made it to the bathroom before the tears spilled down her cheeks. She and Malachai weren't even friends, exactly, but they'd always respected each other, and to hear that he blamed her for Archie's fuck up hurt more than she expected. Or maybe it was his refusal to believe her, or even just his parting words. Malachai had respected her even before most Serpents, and to lose all of that because Northsiders couldn't stay in their own lane was bullshit.

She stormed out of the bathroom, grabbing Sweet Pea by the arm and dragging him to their bikes. She didn't give him a chance to speak before shoving her helmet over her head, revving her engine and taking off towards the Wyrm, the boy following behind her.

She was still upset when she got to the Wyrm, though more angry than sad, and quickly swiped in, making her way to the bar. She pulled a flask—her favourite flask, a gift from Toni which read 'Well behaved women rarely make history'—out of her holster, gulping down the rum inside.

"What was that about, Doll?" Sweet Pea asked when he finally caught up to her.

"Mal. He blames me for Archie's stupid idea. Told me not to visit again, that I'm," she took another long swig of rum, relishing the burn, "that I'm dead to him."

She slammed the now empty flask on the counter, letting Toni wrap a reassuring arm around her.

"He's an idiot, it's not your fault, and he'll get his head out of his ass eventually," she promised.

"Yeah, well… he'd better. In the meantime, I can practically feel the glares, so we should probably start doing our actual jobs."

Toni laughed, pulling away. "Yeah, we should," she agreed.

The boys left soon after for their shifts at the auto shop, and the girls spent the evening keeping the older Serpents' drinks full. The boys finished their shifts first, which wasn't unusual, getting back to the Wyrm just after Amy had gotten two texts, from Archie and Jughead respectively, letting her know that they were heading out. She forwarded the information, along with Fred's license plate, to Sabrina, turning the volume up on her phone before getting back to work.

It was dark out when they finally left, close to eleven o'clock. Amy hadn't heard anything more from the boys, which she hoped meant that they were okay and not that they were being too stubborn to ask for help. Of course, almost as soon as she had thought that, her phone went off.

 **Red:** _car broke down, jug & crate getting ride from stranger, smth feels rlly wrong_

 **Ames:** _that dumbass. Ok where are you exactly._

Archie replied, with both the highway and exit number, and Amy copied the information, pasting it into another chat and sending it to Sabrina.

 **Snake Bitch:** _so the car broke and my dumbass accepted a ride from a stranger. This is where my boy red is, can you help out?_

 **Witchy Bitch:** _just got home from movie night, should be no problem_

She didn't know what exactly Sabrina did, and wasn't going to ask. She knew that Sabrina, like herself, dabbled in some pretty grey morality, and that plausible deniability was always the safest strategy. Thankfully, she got another text from Archie saying that the car was working again, and that he had Jughead.

They got to the riverbanks, so she put her phone away to help set up the trunk of the Jeep, where they had decided to spend the night. Changing into pajamas was unpleasant in the biting winter air, but soon they were all dressed and in the car, and Sweet Pea was closing the trunk behind them. They rolled the front windows just slightly, to get some air circulation, before piling onto the mattress. Amy refused to go to sleep until she knew that Archie and Jughead were safe, and she breathed a sigh of relief when Archie sent another text.

 **Red:** _drop done- left it right inside the door and got out b4 we saw anyone_

 **Ames:** _perfect- drive safe, ily_

 **Red:** _ily2_

She texted Sabrina, getting confirmation that the footage was destroyed, and let herself be pulled down by Sweet Pea. She felt him wrap himself around her, felt Toni tuck a leg between hers, and felt Fangs throw an arm over both she and Toni, but even surrounded by her partners, she knew that she couldn't relax until the boys were back in Riverdale. Thankfully it only took another half hour for Archie to confirm that they were back and stopping at Pops, so she finally turned off her phone, buried her face in Toni's neck, and drifted off to sleep—and for one shining moment, she forgot; about Malachai's rage, Penny's schemes, the Black Hood, all of it. All that mattered was that she was safe, her loved ones were safe, and her partners were right there with her.

Gahhh okay I'm really sorry that this chapter was so short, but I'm already working on chapter 8 which will hopefully be out soon (maybe I can even make it 5 updates in 5 days), and has a whole heck of a lot going on, so please forgive me for this one feeling like a bit of a let down!


	8. The End of Innocence

Chapter title is from Lord of the Flies by William Goulding

NOTE: yeah lmao this is super anti-Alice Cooper and I have no regrets she's the worst and has been since season 1

WARNING: underage drinking, Amy's usual unhealthy relationship with sex (ft. Archie calling her out on it) and some nondescript sex at the very end (if you don't want to read it, just end when they get to Sweet Pea's trailer after the party.

Tall Boy is a little bitch, but it doesn't matter, because FP is getting released! Of course then a certain northsider has the brilliant idea of having a party for a recovering alcoholic at a bar, and between that and everyone's inability to have any sort of healthy communication, things go downhill pretty quickly.

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the Wayward Daughter)**

The End of Innocence

She awoke early the next morning to a text from Jughead, telling her to meet him at the Wyrm when she woke up. After a quick follow up, to make sure that he wasn't in any immediate danger, she woke up her partners. They dressed quickly, returning the car to normal, and drove straight to the Wyrm.

Jughead was waiting outside, as promised, and Amy was barely out of the car before he was sweeping her off the ground, into a hug, and spinning her around.

"Jug? What's going on? Are you… are you drunk?"

"Better," Jughead told her, "My dad is getting out of jail, tonight."

Amy squealed, tightening her grip around Jughead's neck. "For real?"

"For real," he promised, setting her down.

Sweet Pea pulled the other four into a group hug, wrapping his arm around Amy to ruffle Jughead's hair.

"Sweet Pea, I was wondering if we could take the Jeep? He'll be getting out around five, so I was thinking that maybe we could pick him up and then get dinner at Pops?"

"Wait," Toni said, "you want us to come with you?"

"Of course I do. Look, I didn't know you guys before he went away, but I know how much you all mean to him, and how much he means to you guys, and I think he'd want you to be there."

Amy couldn't hold back her tears, grinning widely. "We'll be there," she promised, not giving anyone the chance to object.

"Time to tell the others?" Fangs asked, looking towards the door.

"Yeah, I think it is," Jughead agreed.

They walked in, a united front. Amy stood in the middle—Sweet Pea always said that it was the only way people would see her—with Fangs on one side of her and Toni on the other, Sweet Pea and Jughead standing next to either of them.

Amy whistled sharply as soon as they were in, looking at Jughead as soon as she was certain that they had everyone's attention.

*"My dad's getting out," Jughead announced. Cheers rose up around the room, fading out as Jughead continued. "And when he does, I'll bring him up to speed* about our plans to work with Mayor McCoy."

*"That's brilliant," Tall Boy scoffed, putting down his glass.

"Do you have a problem with that, Tall Boy?" Jughead demanded.

"Your old man? No. I got no problem with him. But you want us to sit down with the Mayor."

"I do," Jughead agreed. "He's right," he added, looking around the room, "I think we can bring the Southside back. But it's going to take work and it's going to take compromise."

Tall Boy laughed, "Bring the Southside back. You've been here all of five minutes."*

"Oh fuck off, Tall Boy," Amy said. The older man glared at her, but Amy's face remained carefully passive.

*"Tall Boy, I am sick of you acting like a little bitch,"* and damn, if he weren't back with Betty, Amy could have kissed him for that. *"Whispering behind my back that I'm half a Serpent or that I don't belong here. Why don't we put it to a vote? If you guys think what I'm going is wrong, I'll step aside."

It was Toni who spoke next, drawing the attention of the bar. "All those who stand with Jughead and think that Tall Boy should shut the hell up—"*

Amy didn't give her a chance to finish, hand shooting up. Fangs and Sweet Pea's followed immediately, along with Toni's, and soon most of the bar had done the same.

"Jones here is more of a Serpent than you are," Sweet Pea added, "and he's never tried to sell us out to the Ghoulies."

Tall Boy's face reddened with anger, but he didn't try to say anything more, instead storming out of the Wyrm, slamming the door behind him.

"Good riddance," Fangs muttered, and soon the five teenagers were laughing, semi hysterically, as they made their way to the Jeep.

Sweet Pea drove them first to the trailer, where they split up to clean the trailer for FP's grand return. Amy was glad that she took the bedroom, finding her underwear from the night of the Open House underneath the bed—and wow, it was a good thing that Betty hadn't seen them, that would not have been pretty.

Amy quickly pushed those thoughts away, along with the irritation that always came with any thought of the Cooper girl, and went back to cleaning. She raided all of FP's usual bottle hiding spots, pleased to see that they were all empty. She knew that fighting alcoholism wasn't as simple as that, but if he didn't have booze in the house then it would be easier for her to monitor his intake at the Wyrm. They spent most of the morning cleaning, before Jughead said that he wanted to go across town, to tell his Northside friends the news.

"Yeah, sure, go fill them in, just don't let anyone claim any of the seats in the car. We'll have to use the way back as it is," Amy reminded him.

"Of course I wouldn't," Jughead assured her.

"Okay, good. I have a key, so we can finish cleaning up and then you can meet us back here when you're ready to go?"

Jughead nodded, waving goodbye as he left. Amy busied herself with rearranging the bedroom drawers, before digging out a dusty bottle of bleach and some gloves, hoping to return the windows to their original white. She finished that, and was about to start on the floorboards when the door reopened.

"Ready to go?" He asked, and Sweet Pea and to lift her by the waist to keep her from running out in bleach stained gloves. He made her take them off and wash her hands before finally letting her leave the trailer, and they piled into the car.

They pulled up outside of the prison, where Sweet Pea and Fangs set about lifting the back row of seats, before the door opened and FP stepped outside.

The intimidating gate was the only thing keeping Amy from running to him, but as soon as he was past it Amy was running, jumping onto FP's back. FP chuckled, hugging Jughead and Toni, and ruffling Sweet Pea and Fangs' hair, before Sweet Pea lifted Amy off of the man.

"Fucking limpet," Sweet Pea laughed, tugging at her ponytail, before stepping back so that FP could pull her into a proper hug.

Amy buried her head in his chest as she hugged him, breathing in the familiar scent of FP, without the reek of alcohol covering it up.

"Miss me, Amethyst?" He teased.

"Nope, not at all," Amy returned, finally pulling away. Toni and Fangs took the back row, Jughead and FP the middle, and Amy took her usual shotgun.

The road to Pops wasn't as familiar to them as the Wyrm, but Sweet Pea got them there no problem, and soon they were squeezing into a much too narrow booth. FP sat between Jughead and Amy on one side, with Toni between the other boys across from them.

"So, how has everyone been doing?" FP asked.

"I mean, there's a murderer in town," Jughead reminded me—was he capable of sounding anything other than sarcastic?

"Not Riverdale, Riverdale has always been a mess. But you guys?"

"Betty and I are good," Jughead told him, and Amy's grip on her fork tightened just a bit too much to seem casual.

"Southside High still sucks, Tall Boy is an ass, nothing new," Toni said, Sweet Pea and Fangs nodding in agreement.

"Auto shop is fine too," Fangs added, "Boss is chill about letting us take time off for Serpent jobs."

FP smiled at them, before turning to the suspiciously silent girl beside him. "Amethyst?"

"I'm fi—"

"Don't give me that 'I'm fine' bullshit, girl," he warned her, "I know what that means with you."

"Okay, so, I'm not fine," Amy admitted. "I haven't been fine since before Mustang sent me to the fucking orphanage from hell. And I mean fuck, if everything else weren't bad enough, Malachai is in jail and he blames me. Because Red called the fucking pigs."

"What's with you two?" Jughead asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Amy shrugged. "Well, I tried to fuck him, like, a year ago. He turned me down, said that I was a kid and that I was drunk and to ask him again when I was twenty-one and sober." She ignored the look of shock on Jughead's face, pressing on before he could interrupt. "Some of his boys didn't have the same standards and, well, I was pretty close to blackout, not in any state to object. Mal called them off, told them that if any of them ever wanted to touch me, they'd need his permission, and that he wouldn't be giving it. He's kept an eye on me since then, and always makes a big show of respecting my status—he's actually part of the reason that I get the respect that I do now. I guess they figured that if the leader of the Ghoulies was going to respect some little punk then they should too. Point is, he's an asshole, a total dick, but he has my back. That's more than I can even say about some Serpents."

"I… That's not what I would have expected," Jughead said.

"I know," Amy told him, turning back to FP, "And god, if that wasn't enough, I spent over two months with the goddamn Sisters, the only person that I considered a friend there broke out and left me behind, you were arrested, and within about five hours of getting back from rehab, Mary Andrews called me to tell me that Fred was shot, Red became a vigilante, then there was the fucking raid, then the race, and Mal getting arrested, and we've come full circle and everything fucking sucks."

"I had no idea," Jughead said, "I mean, I knew parts of that, but I never really thought about—"

"About how terrible it is? Yeah, well, now you know."

FP pulled her against his side. "I think what I'm about to say might make it worse," he warned her.

"What is it?" She asked nervously.

"I'm leaving the Serpents—"

"FP, you can't!" Toni objected.

"I have to. I love the Serpents, you know that I do, but I can't go back. I'm sober now, I'm trying to get my life together, and I can't do that as a Serpent."

"The Serpents need you, FP," Amy told him, "I need you."

"I can't. I need you to take care of them, Adams, to be the king that I can't be."

Amy took a deep breath, blinking back tears. She knew better than to argue, but the idea of FP was more than she could handle. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly.

"You'll be okay, kiddo. I'll still be around, I'm not abandoning you, I just can't be a Serpent."

Amy nodded, "Okay. Where do I start?"

"Start with something simple. Sort things out with Malachai."

"How do I do that?"

"You go back. Look, one visit is expected of you, Adams. You're the heir to the mantle, and he's the leader of the Ghoulies. Even if it had been your plan, that much would have been expected of you. You go back, that's on you, that means you're serious. Malachai knows that as well as I do."

"I need to go," Amy said, moving to stand.

"How are you going to get there?" FP asked, grinning.

"I can walk," she said, after a moment.

"Or, you can sit down, finish your milkshake, and we'll drop you off," Sweet Pea suggested.

Amy rolled her eyes, but sat back down. She let the conversation wash over her, sipping at her milkshake and relishing in the familiar warmth of FP beside her.

They finished up shortly, paying and climbing into the Jeep. As promised, Sweet Pea dropped her off at the prison, promising that he would be back after he dropped the others back at Sunnyside.

Amy waved over her shoulder, turning to walk into the building.

Signing in was a familiar routine for her, and she made her way down the hallway to the window.

Malachai threw himself into the seat, grabbing the phone with a glare.

"I told you to leave. That you're dead to me," he told her.

"You did," she agreed, her face as blank as her voice.

"Yet here you are."

"Here I am."

Malachai's eyes widened, taking in what she'd said. "Jesus, Princess, this wasn't actually your doing, was it?"

"That's what I've been telling you," Amy pointed out.

"I thought you just came because it was expected of you. But you came again, you didn't have to do that. I told you not to do that."

"I know, Mal. And yeah, being sneaky and underhand is exactly my kind of thing, but I would never do that to you."

Mal chuckled weakly, "No, I guess you wouldn't. So, what's happened since I've been in here?"

"Little boy prince is dating Turncoat Cooper's daughter again, the fucking Black Hood called Pops yesterday, and FP got released today."

"I don't know what I was expecting. Your life is never normal, Princess," he teased.

"It's not."

"So, FP Jones got out of jail and instead of being with him, you're visiting little old me?"

"Yeah? I wanted to make things right."

"You're something else, Princess. We're good. Now get out of here and spend some time with the king."

"He's not the king anymore," she told him. "He's stepping down, said he wants me to take up the mantle."

"That's my girl," Malachai said fondly. "All the more reason for you to be there."

"I don't know if I can do this, Mal. I'm not ready."

"You've got this, Princess," he assured her. "Now stop hiding from it and get your ass to the Wyrm."

"Fine. Thanks, Mal."

"Anytime, Princess. Come back and visit once things are settled."

"I will," she promised, hanging up the phone.

When she stepped outside, she saw Sweet Pea sitting on his bike.

"Everything good?" He asked, as she settled in behind her.

"Everything is good," she agreed, and quickly filled him in.

"I figured you'd want to get straight to the Wyrm?"

"Please. I have a shift in thirty anyways."

Sweet Pea slid his helmet over her head, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. They took off down familiar roads, parking amongst the line of bikes outside of the Wyrm.

Amy walked in, and froze, seeing Betty Cooper at the bar.

"Northside. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to Toni," Betty told her.

"Cool, you can talk to both of us. Spit it out."

"I want us to have a party for FP. A retirement party."

"First of all, Northside, there is no 'us'. And second, you want to have a party for a recovering alcoholic in a bar? You know, I never imagined that Jughead would fall for a fucking dumbass."

Betty recoiled, and Toni stepped in quickly.

"She's harsh, but she's right. You're not a Serpent."

"But I could be," Betty said, "I mean… I don't want to be a full Serpent, but maybe Serpent-adjacent? This is Jughead's life, which makes it kind of my life too."

"It really doesn't," Amy scoffed.

Byrdie laughed, from her seat down the bar. *"Sorry, Sweet Valley High, if you wanna join the club, you gotta do the dance. The Serpent dance."

"Excuse me, Serpent dance?" Betty asked.

"It's an outdated, sexist, Serpent tradition," Toni explained, "tried to get it outlawed, but misogyny dies hard. You don't wanna know."

"Uh, yeah I do. I want to know everything."*

"You want to know everything?" Amy demanded.

"Yeah, I do."

"It's a pole dance. Stripping. You know, me and Toni did the dance when we were twelve. As soon as he became king, FP made it against the law for anyone to do the dance, or run the gauntlet, under thirteen. He tried to make it eighteen, but the resistance was so strong that he nearly lost the mantle. Toni and I absolutely shouldn't have been allowed to do it, but FP wasn't there and not a single other person gave a shit."

"That's—"

"Save it, Northside. You said you wanted to know everything, I'm telling you everything. You want to know how disgusting it felt? How vulnerable? FP was out on a job, and it was pretty much just the adults, and Sweet Pea. He came to support us, and thank god he did because he was the only thing keeping me from puking all over the stage. Do you know why my jacket is so big on me?" she asked, plowing on before Betty could answer. "Because FP walked in before we were done. Because the moment he saw us, he grabbed his original jacket from the back—the one that was always meant to go to Jughead if he joined—and pulled his off. He stormed onto the stage, called the whole thing off, and declared that we were in. Because there we were, two twelve year old girls, half naked, freezing, and humiliated beyond belief, and the only thing that he could do was wrap his jacket around Toni, and the old one around me. Toni gave hers back, and got one of her own, but I kept this one. It reminds me every single day of how much I've given to this gang. What have you done, Cooper? Other than accuse FP of murder? Nothing. No dance can change that. Jughead's one of us now, we don't need you and your holier-than-thou attitude interfering in something that is none of your business. Host the fucking party, if you want, but don't ever think that you're one of us."

Betty opened and closed her mouth, speechless. Toni reached out, to lay a comforting hand on the girl, but Amy pushed her aside. She poured herself a double shot of whiskey, downing it, and then repeated the process, before slamming the glass down on the countertop, immediately pulling Sweet Pea and Fangs from a pool table, dragging them to the back room. They were still there, fast asleep on the floor, when Toni joined them an hour later. She laughed fondly, grabbing blankets from the closet and laying down to join them.

When she awoke the next morning, Amy was gone. She pulled a sticky note from the door, saying that Amy had gone to the front to talk to Jughead.

Slipping on her jacket and boots, she stuck the note back on the door for the boys, padding down the hallway.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She heard Amy demand.

"Unfortunately, no," and that was Jughead's familiar drawl, which meant that Amy's note was probably fairly recent.

"What's going on?" Toni asked, as she entered the room.

"Penny—" Jughead started.

"Fucking Peabody," Amy spat out, "telling Jug that if he doesn't become her latest drug mule she'll get FP sent back to jail."

Toni's eyes widened, "Can she do that?"

"Probably," Amy shrugged. "Fuck it, I need a drink."

"No you don't," Toni told her, grabbing her as she made her way to the bar.

"But Toni—"

"Nope," Toni cut her off. "We have a party to get ready for."

"Fuck. Fucking fuck I forgot about that. We need to get the boys, and go back to—fuck, I don't even know which trailer is empty to get ready—"

"You can come to mine," Jughead offered, "I know you all have clothes there."

"We do," Amy agreed. "That should work. Okay, I'll deal with the boys—"

"Deal with us about what?" A new voice asked—Sweet Pea, as he and Fangs joined them.

"Oh, perfect. I was going to come wake you up. Cooper's stupid party is tonight, so we're going to FP's to get ready."

Both boys nodded. Amy's nerves were palpable, no doubt because FP stepping down would make her the Serpent King, and they weren't going to make anything harder by arguing with her.

Amy, who had come to the Wyrm on Sweet Pea's bike, climbed on behind him once again. As soon as they got to the trailer, Amy was pushing her way into the bedroom, not caring that FP was still sleeping, passed out on the couch in the living room. She dug through the closet, emerging moments later with a black—Jughead wasn't sure if he'd call it a dress, more of a scrap of fabric.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?" She asked the other four, all of whom were standing around doing nothing.

"The party isn't until tonight," Jughead reminded her.

"Yeah, but we're going to be the first ones there. I'm not letting anyone or anything catch me off guard tonight, and that includes getting there before anyone else. Now get to it."

Jughead didn't argue, thinking that he might receive a knife to the gut if he tried, and rummaged through his door for a fairly tight black shirt.

By the time he turned around, Amy was already dressed, and he saw that he was right, and the dress was barely there. The tight black fabric stretched from her upper thighs to the top of her chest, with an open lace overlay covering the dress, as well as her arms and collarbones. Between the length of the dress and the height of her boots, Amy's legs looked longer than should ever be possible for a girl who wasn't even five feet tall, and her hair was down for once, the dark waves brushing her lower back. She pushed past him, heading to the bathroom.

"Um, Toni?"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before, Jughead, but fine, I can turn around while you change."

Toni did turn around, changing into black jean shorts and a tight tank top, while all three boys stuck to their usual dark jeans and shirts.

Amy left the bathroom, letting Toni take her turn, and Jughead felt a stirring in his gut. If he thought that she had looked good before, the addition of sharp eyeliner, red lipstick, and her jacket made her look sinful. He had a similar reaction when Toni emerged, skillfully smudged eyeliner and bubblegum pink lipstick carefully in place.

He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, but before he could say anything, a new voice spoke up.

"You girls clean up nice," FP told them, leaning against the doorway.

"You're awake, good. We're leaving in half an hour to get set up, so shower and dress quickly," Amy said, ignoring his compliment and shoving him towards the bathroom.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," FP chuckled.

The door closed behind him, and Amy busied herself by making a large serving of scrambled eggs, divvying them up onto five plates. She handed four of them to the other teenagers, leaving the fifth for FP.

"You need to eat, Doll," Sweet Pea told her.

"Nope. Not happening. The idea of eating is making me nauseous."

Jughead would have let it drop at that, but apparently Sweet Pea didn't share his fear of a nervous Amy and her knives; which he was certain would be tucked into the garters that she was sliding on.

"No, Amy. You need to eat." He scooped a third of his eggs onto another plate, pushing it over to her, along with a fork. "Finish those and I'll let it go."

Amy glared at the plate, and then at the boy. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly, stabbing at the offending food.

FP was out soon after, towel wrapped tightly around his waist as he crossed the living room to the bedroom. It didn't take long before he was joining them in the kitchen, clothed in black jeans and a tight white t-shirt.

"I see Sweet Pea is making you eat," he teased, and Amy turned his glare on him.

"Sweet Pea is an asshole," she pouted.

"I'm sure he is, kiddo, I'm sure he is."

Apparently FP's presence was stronger than Amy's anxiety, as she soon finished her eggs, dumping her plate in the sink. She returned to a combination of pacing and checking her phone until the others were done, and they made their way to the bikes; the men all stopping to grab their jackets from the hooks by the door. FP led the way to the Wyrm, with the teenagers close behind.

Amy had barely even parked her bike before she was jumping off, making her way into the Wyrm. Amy's eyes drifted over to the bar, but a quick look at FP had her shaking her head, moving to the dartboard instead.

"What do you say, Fogarty? FP?"

"I'm in," Fangs agreed, before turning to the others, "she needs to get rid of some energy, but give us a heads up if people start arriving."

Jughead saw Toni and Sweet Pea nod, and quickly did the same, watching as Fangs and his dad joined Amy.

All three were fast, he noticed, and incredibly accurate. He couldn't deny that he was impressed with their skill, watching with one eye, while the other watched the door.

"People are arriving," Sweet Pea called out, well into the fifth round.

Amy cursed, tugging nervously at her jacket before taking her usual spot behind the bar. Jughead didn't know exactly why she liked being there so much, but he suspected that it had something to do with the raised floor and the fact that she was in control.

Archie and Veronica were amongst the first to arrive, and he found himself joining them at the bar, where Amy was in a heated discussion with the red head.

He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he knew instinctively that Amy would hate herself for taking her anxiety out on Archie, so he quickly drew them away with questions about their investigation.

Several people had arrived, and the party was in full swing, when he noticed heads turning. Looking towards the door, he saw Betty, looking as beautiful as ever, with—was that Alice? Behind her. Alice was dressed like a Serpent, Jughead realized, although her jacket was just a normal jacket, not a Serpent jacket.

*"Hog Eye," she called, "get me a—"*

"Hog Eye's not on bar tonight, Turncoat," Amy said.

She didn't raise her voice, she didn't need to. The bar had fallen dead quiet when she spoke, everyone waiting to see what would happen.

"What did you call me?" Alice demanded.

Jughead could almost feel everyone holding their breath, and realized that he was doing the same—a showdown between Alice Cooper and Amethyst Adams was guaranteed to be nuclear, but he would put his money on Amy. While Alice saw herself as being at the top of the food chain, Jughead knew that Amy was more dangerous, and much more ruthless.

"Turncoat. That's what you are, isn't it? You left the Serpents, turned Northside, and dedicated your entire fucking career to ruining our lives. You don't get to come crawling back like you're still one of us, like you didn't break the fifth law and betray us all, just because FP is hot and you want to fuck him."

"Excuse me? How dare—"

"How dare I? How dare you, Turncoat. You're not welcome here, not now, not ever again. Now get the fuck out, unless you want me to dispose of you like I do all the trash that stinks this place up."

Alice gaped, but Amy remained unflinching. After a moment of silence, Alice huffed, turning around and storming out of the bar.

He saw his dad heading towards Amy, and quickly made his way to where Betty was still frozen.

"That was harsh, kiddo," FP told Amy.

"That was the truth, and you know it. And someone had to tell her."

"Amethyst—"

"Don't Amethyst me, FP. Alice Cooper is an entitled bitch who just wants in your pants and you fucking know it. Now, you have a party to get to, and I have a job to do."

FP sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, "we're going to talk about this eventually," he told her.

"Sure we are," Amy agreed, waving him away.

She lost herself in the easy rhythm of bartending, until she suddenly heard a familiar voice through the speakers. She rolled her eyes when she saw Archie and Veronica on stage, watching passively as Veronica stormed out of the Wyrm, Archie close behind her.

She saw Toni whispering to Jughead, who quickly crossed the room to Betty, interrupting her path to the stage and leading her out the back door, before her gaze was drawn to the other side of the room, as Archie reentered, alone.

She listened with one ear as Toni called karaoke a terrible idea, declaring that the machine would be off for the night, but was more focused on chasing after Veronica.

"Veronica?" She called, following the girl outside.

"Amy? Shouldn't you be with Archie right now?"

"Should I be? Honestly, I have no idea what just happened."

"We broke up."

"Why? You two are like… disgustingly perfect for each other."

"Because Archie said he loved me, and I couldn't say it back."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," Veronica sighed. "I mean, it's not like it's that big of a deal, right? I've never once heard my parents say it to each other."  
"The words aren't a big deal, but I think that is. And I get it, V, I really do. Probably more than most people. I mean hell, Sweet Pea was the first person to ever say it to me, and we were eight years old, the day before I got sent to the orphanage. If you ever want to talk, I'm here. And, god, I don't want to be a bitch and ditch you, but I need to be there for Archie right now, make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid like try to fight Sweet Pea again."

Veronica laughed, "yeah, you do that. I might have to take you up on that offer though, sometime."

"Anytime, V. Let me know that you get home okay, okay?"

"I will. Take care of Archie for me?"

"I will," Amy promised, and the two girls parted ways.

Amy went back into the Wyrm, thankful that Archie's red hair was easy to make out in the dark room. She grabbed him, leading him to the back room, doing her best to be gentle with him.

"Red?"

"Veronica dumped me, Ames," he told her.

"I know… She told me. What do you need, Red?"

"I need… I don't know."

"Well… you've got a dick, I've got a mouth. I can take your mind off of it for a bit?"

"What? No way. You're my baby sister, Ames," Archie reminded her.

"It's just a mouth, Red," Amy argued.

"No it's not, Ames, and you know it."

Amy blinked, eyes filling with unwanted tears, "But… you say you love me," she told him.

Archie sighed, taking her hands in his, crouching down to look her in the eyes. "You don't need to give people sex for them to love you."

Amy stared at him blankly.

"I know you, Ames, I've known you for years. You treat sex like it's a currency, the price you have to pay for love, but it's not."

"I don't get it," Amy told him.

Archie pulled her into a tight hug. "I know you don't," he said, "but one day. One day you'll understand. And look, I'll always love you, even without the sex, but right now I think you need your friends. And I need to head home."

"I… Yeah, I think you're right. Text me when you get back?"

"Always," he promised, leading her out of the room. As Archie left her side, heading to the door, Amy immediately sought out any of her partners.

Thankfully they were all standing together, so Amy slid up beside them. She was about to say something when FP climbed onto the stage.

*"You know what?" he asked, the crowd silencing immediately, "I've been in and out of the Serpents since I was younger than my son. And it's been a wild ride. Good times, bad times, but through it all, the Serpents stuck by my side, while most other people turned their backs on me. My own family included. Now, the letter of the law says that I can't be here in the Serpent den. That I can't associate with my friends. My real family." Loud protests filled the room, but FP silenced them quickly. "But I've been thinking about that. And it'll be a cold day in hell before a snake lets a pig tell him what to do. Northside wants me outta this gang? Well, they better bring a coffin because FP Jones isn't retiring. I am not going gently into the night! I'm here to stay! So, bring the fire!"*

Amy watched, speechless, as he stepped off of the stage, immediately being pulled aside by Jughead.

"He—he didn't just do that? Did he?"

"He did," Fangs told her. "It'll be okay, babe, we can keep an eye on him."

"Well, at least the Jones men are having a good night," Amy scoffed, watching in horror as FP was handed a shot glass.

"Only one of them," Toni told her, "I told Jughead that Betty wanted to do the dance, and next thing I know he's telling her that he can't involve her in this and breaking things off."

"Oh. Well, we'll deal with that in a second," Amy said, making her way to FP.

"Amethyst, kiddo, I—"

"Doesn't matter, FP. We can talk tomorrow or something. Just… please be careful, okay?"

"I always am," FP told her.

"That's what I was afraid of. Okay, well, I need to go mend your son's broken heart, so I'll see you tomorrow."

FP nodded, already being pulled away by Tall Boy, so Amy continued on her mission, cornering Jughead by the bar.

"I heard about what happened," she told him.

"News travels fast around here, doesn't it?"

"Yeah it does. Now come on, we're all sleeping at Sweets' tonight. Come with us."

"But my dad—"

"I know you love him, and you worry about him, Juggy. So do I. But FP? If we try to stop him now, it'll just backfire. We can talk to him in the morning, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, now come on." Amy waved her partners down, and they met up by the door. "Juggy is staying with us tonight."

"Nice," Fangs said, eyeing the taller boy.

They took their bikes to the trailer, stumbling through the door. Sweet Pea had barely locked the door behind them when Amy grabbed Jughead, slamming him against the wall, pressing her mouth to his.

"Amethyst?" He asked, pulling away slightly.

"Yes or no, Juggy, yes or no?"

"Yes. But are you sure—"

"Don't ask me if I'm sure I want this. I do."

Amy dragged him to the bedroom, the other three following close behind. Unlike the last time, Jughead immediately reached for the boys when they moved to step away. Amy was focused entirely on her mission, yanking Jughead's pants down quickly, while Toni and Fangs took care of the shirt. Once he was fully naked, he pulled Sweet Pea in for a kiss, smirking when the taller boy froze for a moment, before wrapping his hair in the Jones boy's hair.

Sweet Pea pulled away suddenly, seeing Amy slide down her underwear.

"Doll?"

"I know what I'm doing, Sweets. I'm not even drunk."

Sweet Pea sighed, raising his hands in surrender. He crossed his legs, pulling Jughead's head down until he was face up in the other boy's lap, looking up at him.

"Hi," Jughead whispered.

"Hi yourself," Sweet Pea replied, leaning over to kiss him quickly.

He kept one eye on Toni and Fangs, who were each focused on leaving hickeys on their respective sides of the boy, the other on Amy.

Amy kissed her way down his chest, before moving to a kneeling position, lifting her hips before lowering herself onto Jughead.  
-

As always, I hope you all enjoyed! I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out, and I hope that you are too!


	9. Terror Made Me Cruel

Chapter title is from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

NOTE: okay so Fangs' real name (in the comics) is Edward, which is where Eddie comes from. My HC for Sweet Pea's name is Lathyrus (which is the sweet pea's latin name), which is where Lath comes from

 **WARNING** : oh god… so canon violence (the penny tattoo scene, a recap of archie being buried alive), implied sexual content (healthy communication about comfort zones!), and pretty implicit past pedophilia/underage sex between Penny Peabody and a teen serpent

So FP didn't retire, instead he became Penny's drug mule, Jughead and the poly squad had sex, the Black Hood is still around, and it's just about time for Christmas

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

Terror Made Me Cruel

Amy winced as the harsh sunlight streamed in through the trailer window, lifting an arm to shield her eyes. She felt, more than saw, her bedmates doing the same, and was struck with regret for not closing the blinds the night before.

Thankfully Toni was a morning person, and had no problem getting out of bed and taking care of that, smiling fondly while the other four rubbed the sleep out of their eyes. As their eyes adjusted to the light, they started taking in their various stages of undress—Toni herself was in knickers and Sweet Pea's shirt, the boy clad just in boxers. Fangs was wearing boxers and his shirt, and Jughead was fully nude, a stark contrast to Amy who was still wearing her dress from the night before, although her knickers had disappeared somewhere under the covers.

She watched as they, slowly growing more aware, seemed to remember the night before, biting back a laugh as Jughead seemed to become aware of his own nudity, flushing red. Amy seemed to have no such qualms, stripping off her dress, and reaching to the floor to pull on Jughead's boxers. It seemed that the change from a dress to his boxers was what finally reminded Jughead of everything that had happened the previous night, as he looked at her awkwardly.

"So, last night—"

"Last night was fun," Amy interrupted, "you're better than I expected from a virgin."

"But we—"

"We did. Regrets?"

"I mean no—"

"So what's the problem?"

"Last time… Last time you told me that you didn't, you know—do that—with anyone other than these guys."

"Yeah, my policy is only oral outside of the group, what's your point?"

Jughead could feel her tense up, the bed too small for anyone not to be touching, and tried to keep his own voice calm. He would have appreciated if any of the others would step in, but he knew that this was something that he and Amy needed to talk about.

"My point," he said softly, "is that you broke that policy last night."

Amy took a breath, and when she spoke, both her face and voice were blank.

"So what?" she asked, more passive than Jughead had ever seen her.

If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she didn't care. But he did know better—it wasn't that she didn't care, he realized, it was that she shut herself down. It was how she protected herself. The blank looks, waiting for whoever she was talking to to lay their cards on the table? It had never been that she didn't care; it was that she cared too much. He was starting to understand the dangers of being vulnerable among the Serpents, and after what Amy had told him the day before, he understood how precarious her position actually was. People respected her, but a lot of them didn't particularly like her, and any sign of weakness would quickly be used against her.

He felt a rush of—not pity, never pity—of sympathy, as he took her hands in his. "So, there has to be a reason. It's just us here, Amethyst, nothing ever has to leave this room."

Amy shrugged, faux-nonchalant. "Just something Archie said. It's not a big deal."

It was—of course it was; if it wasn't, she wouldn't be trying so hard to avoid the subject, but Jughead knew that pushing her would just backfire.

"Okay. But, I mean… where do we stand?" he asked, looking around at the other three.

"You're our friend, Juggy," Amy told him, "does there have to be more to it?"

"We had sex, Amethyst," Jughead reminded her, "which you specifically told me you only do with these three."

"Well maybe I want us to be five now. Not like, the relationship thing, just… friendship?"

"The friendship is there, Amethyst. It's not going anywhere. But how does the sex play in?"

"Sex is nice. It feels good, it's a good stress reliever. But it's also a reminder that at the end of the day, you have someone in your corner."

Jughead looked to Toni who shook her head—a warning not to follow that train of thought.

"Okay."

"Wait," Fangs spoke up suddenly, "Really?"

"Really," Jughead agreed. "I mean, if you guys are all okay with that? And like, not if Betty and I ever get back together or something, but yes, really."

"We're all okay with it," Sweet Pea assured him. "We've been talking about it since your gauntlet."

Jughead felt – surprisingly giddy, really. Not unlike how he felt when he started dating Betty. "Okay," he repeated.

"But now you have to lay out some ground rules, Jug," Toni told him.

"I—what?"

"You're new to this—I mean, to us, and to sex. We need to know where you stand on things, which lines to never cross."

"Oh." Jughead blushed again, suddenly remembering his nudity as all four of the other Serpents watched it spread down his chest. "I… I don't know. Can that be an answer?"

"Maybe," Sweet Pea told him, "but you still need to talk to us."

Jughead relaxed slightly as he felt Sweet Pea shift in the bed, arms wrapping loosely around Jughead's torso.

"I honestly don't know," he told them. "I've—I've really liked everything that we've done, but everything has been a first. I don't know what I like or don't like."

"Okay, that's okay. That's good, Jones. You're doing good—" and oh, Jughead would forever deny the whine that escaped him when he heard those words. "Is there anything that you know you don't want to do?"

"I… I don't think so. I mean—if I say no now, I can always change my mind, right?"

"Of course," Fangs promised.

Amy smiled at Toni, watching their boys step up to the plate. They knew that they needed to be involved in the conversation, it was between the five of them after all, but Jughead had only ever had a girlfriend, had had all of his firsts with girls, and it was important that the boys be on the same page, that they all know if there was anything that was okay with the girls but not the boys.

"Then I don't think so," Jughead said, thinking for a moment. "I mean, if we try things, or whatever, then maybe, but not right now."

"That's good, Jones, that's really good," Sweet Pea told him, having picked up on Jughead's reaction to his last praise.

As expected, Jughead keened again, the sound escaping against his will. Sweet Pea chuckled fondly, pressing a gentle kiss to the shorter boy's lips.

"So we're good?" Fangs asked, looking to Amy and Toni for approval.

"We're good," Toni told him. "But we need to get ready for the last day of school."

"Do we have to go?" Amy whined. "We finished our exams last week, today is just like… I don't even know. An excuse to keep us troublemakers in school and off the streets for as long as possible?"

"Something like that," Toni laughed. "I mean… I guess if we wanted to stick around here for the morning—"

"Yes!" "Please!" "Thank god." "Okay." The four voices spoke, not in unison, but all in agreement, and Toni couldn't stop the smile from spreading over her face.

"Well, in that case, who's in the mood to watch Rudolph?" She asked.

"…"

"Jug?"

"I said—I—yeah um—okay so I was maybe terrified of the abominable snowman when I was a toddler and haven't watched it since."

"That's fucking adorable," Amy told him, pushing herself onto her knees to lean over and kiss him.

"We can protect you from the big, bad Bumble," Fangs promised.

Even through his dark blush, Jughead was beaming. Clearly the boy was as desperate for affection as they had all been when they first started their arrangement-turned-relationship, and luckily all four of them loved doling out affection even more than receiving it.

"Okay, Jug, put something—anything—on. I'm sure that Fangs has some sweats around here that you can borrow. Amy, babe? Put a shirt on before Sweets' eyes fall out of his head."

"Was that really necessary, Tiny?" Sweet Pea complained.

"Absolutely," Toni agreed, yelping when he tossed a pillow at her.

"Okay, no, we are not having a pillow fight right now," Fangs told them firmly. "Someone will fall out of bed and crack their skull and I'd much rather watch movies than go to the hospital."

"Fine," Toni agreed reluctantly, "but only if Sweets lets go of Jug so he can put on some pants."

Sweet Pea pouted, but complied, and Jughead stood quickly. He was relieved when Amy, now clad in an oversized shirt which could have belonged to any of them, tossed him a pair of dark sweatpants, since he realized that he wouldn't have known where to look. He looked back at the bed, wondering how they were going to arrange themselves, put suddenly strong arms wrapped around him and he was on his back, head resting on Sweet Pea's chest. Fangs had grabbed Toni, he noticed, and Amy was somehow touching all of them—her legs were entangled with Fangs' and Toni's, and her head was tucked against Sweet Pea's hip, brushing against his bare chest whenever she moved, one arm thrown across him. He figured that someone must have set up the movie while he was dressing, because he saw Fangs press at a remote and the TV lit up.

They watched through the trailers, and Jughead was somehow not surprised that Amy had an opinion on every single one of them. He wasn't even sure if he believed that she'd watched all of them, or if she was just making them up as she went. She fell silent when the movie started, her hand finding his and interlacing their fingers.'

It was more comfortable than he would have imagined, the five of them squished into a bed meant for one, feet and elbows occasionally bumping into each other. He was able to relax, more than he could ever remember doing, and lose himself in the feeling of genuine affection, and the nostalgia of the movie.

The movie ended, and they slowly started to sit up, trying to stretch without hitting anyone.

"So, the Wyrm? Juggy, you said yesterday that you needed to talk to your dad?"

"Yeah… this… this is all my fault. Dad, he found out that Penny was trying to blackmail me. That's why he didn't retire."

He was ashamed to realize that he was tearing up, but suddenly had four arms wrapped around him, and two different pairs of hands wiping away the tears.

"That's not your fault," Toni told him. "FP is a grown man, he can make his own decisions. And Penny is a bitch, we all know that. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if she heard that FP was going to make Amy king and started blackmailing you to make sure he'd stay—he puts up with a lot more of her shit than Amy does."

"Yeah, well, I've read legal books," Amy pointed out.

"Wait, really?" Jughead couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, really. I'm going to go to law school, learn the ins and outs, and then come back to Riverdale. I'll be able to help the Serpents without all the fucking favours that Penny demands."

"I thought you hated school though."

Amy laughed. It should have sounded mocking, he realized, but the gentle smile softened it. "I have an image to uphold, Juggy, but I work hard. I'm acing all of my classes, even after missing two months of school. No one gets scholarships, gets into good universities and top law schools, with shit grades."

"I never knew," he admitted.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," she told him, brushing a strand of hair from his face. "There's a lot you don't know about all of us, and a lot that we don't know about you. But, we learn as we go."

Jughead smiled, leaning in to kiss her. Amy kissed back, soft and gentle and possessive.

"Come on, horndog," Fangs said, pulling Amy away by the collar, "let him breathe. We've got a king to knock some sense into."

"Cockblock," Amy told him, twisting around to kiss him quickly.

She hopped off of the bed, moving gracefully around the mess of clothes on the floor. By the time he had gotten out of bed and found his jeans, she was already dressed in her usual lace up shorts—she must have multiple pairs, he realized, since he was sure that she had been wearing a pair before changing at his trailer the day before—with a lacy black bra, a mostly open green and black flannel, and her jacket.

The other three were also dressed before he was, and he was suddenly struck by the fact that this was a routine for them. He had never done this before, but from what he'd gathered, they'd been doing this for over a year. He didn't know if that was why they all left spare clothes all over the place, or if that had to do with how frequently they changed where they were sleeping, but for a moment he felt like an intruder. He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt something on his head. He lifted a hand, feeling his beanie, and realized that Sweet Pea had just put it on for him. Was this what domesticity was supposed to feel like, he wondered, before his jacket was being shoved in his arms and they were piling out the door and onto their bikes.

FP was already at the Wyrm when they arrived, looking over when they walked in.

"Shouldn't you kids be at school?" He asked.

"Last day," Amy reminded him, "only half a day."

"Right," he nodded. "Well, Topaz, Fogarty, I need you to help out with some Toys for Tots deliveries."

"Toys for Tots?" Jughead asked.

"We do it every year," Toni told him, "sort of a way to give back to the Southside."

"Topaz, Fogarty, let's go," Byrdie ordered, gesturing to a large pile of gift boxes.

"Gotta go," Fangs said, "Ride or die?"

"Ride or die," the other three repeated, before he and Toni joined the group by the door.

"Alright, we've got to go. You three hold down the fort," FP told the remaining teenagers.

*"Or I could come with you guys," Jughead suggested.

"Nice try. The answer's no."

"We do need another set of hands, boss," Tall Boy said.

"There you go," Jughead agreed, "Let me pull my weight. Dad, I don't know what the Snake Charmer has you doing—"*

"Lath, you're with us."

"Lath?" Jughead asked, seeing Sweet Pea start to move.

"That a problem, Forsythe?" Sweet Pea asked, and although his voice was hard, his smile was playful.

"Okay, let's go," Amy agreed.

"I didn't ask for you, Adams."

"No, you didn't," Amy agreed, "but you know we're ride or die. You want Sweets, you take me too—and you're lucky that Fangs and Toni are out or they'd be saying the same."

FP blinked, having never once had Amy argue with him when he used her last name. She knew as well as he did that using their last names—or real name, in Sweet Pea's case—meant that he was talking as their king, not their father figure.

He looked between them, all three of them, before sighing, "Fine. Adams, you can come to. Jug, hold down the fort."

Jughead wanted to argue, but FP was pulling the other teens out of the door before he had the chance.

When Fangs and Toni returned, Jughead filled them in on where the others were, and Toni walked him through some Toys for Tots preparation.

Soon enough, FP and Tall Boy were walking through the door, but Amy and Sweet Pea were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are they?" Fangs demanded immediately.

"Relax, Fogarty," FP told him, "they went straight from the drop to the prison, Adams wanted to check in with Malachai.

Fangs breathed a sigh and relief, and Jughead felt himself relax slightly.

Meanwhile, across Riverdale, Amy was just finishing checking in, strolling down the hallway to see Malachai.

"Talk to me, Princess," he said immediately.

That was all it took for the dam to break, and Amy filled him in on everything that had happened in the last two days.

"Okay, that's—yeah, that's chaos. I'm good with chaos. I take it that's why you came to me?"

"You don't sugarcoat, Mal. I can handle the Jones', but I don't know what to do about the Peabody situation."

"That's easy, Princess. You need a show of strength. Reminder her that it's her against all of you, not you against all of them."

"You think that would work?"

"If you do it right. You're the most ruthless little spitefire I know, Princess, you'll figure it out."

"Thanks, Mal."

"Anytime. Now, I think you have some Serpents to rally. Go get em, Princess."

Amy beamed at him, waving goodbye as she left. Malachai chuckled fondly, watching her go.

Amy didn't tell Sweet Pea any of the details, just that she needed to talk to Jones and then she'd fill them all in. As soon as they got back to the Wyrm, Amy grabbed Jughead by the arm, pulling him to the backroom as he had seen her do to each of her partners at some point or another.

"Amethyst?"

"We need to talk."

"Is everything okay?" He asked, worried.

"No, it's not. But it will be. We need to deal with Peabody, once and for all."

"We can't kill her, Amethyst!"

"I mean, we could. That's totally on the table. Not what I was going to suggest, though. We need a show of strength."

"What are you thinking?"

"We rally the younger Serpents. Make sure she knows that she's not welcome in Riverdale anymore."

"But the law—"

"Penny broke the law first, Juggy, this is just making sure she gets her dues. But in case she needs a reminder that the laws don't protect her anymore, we take her tattoo. Get our pound of flesh."

"I—I don't know if I can—"

"Doesn't matter if you can, I'll be doing it. She already hates me, okay? And we can't give her anymore ammunition against your dad."

Jughead took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "So, what now?"

"Well first, you need to learn how to act Serpent. Then, we get rid of Peabody. And Juggy, listen… I can't predict how FP will react, but if you ever can't stay at home, I bet we can fit one more in the Jeep."

"I—thanks, Amethyst. And, um, what do you mean by learning how to act Serpent?"

Amy grinned, bouncing out of the room. "Toni, Fangs, Sweets, finish up and meet me outside. FP, I'm stealing them for a while—Jughead too."

"Do I want to know what you're doing?"

"Hot, kinky sex in your trailer," Amy informed him with a bright smile.

FP choked, and so did Jughead, "You—"

"I'm fucking with you, FP. Just some good old teenage rebellion, don't worry."

"Every single thing you just said worries me, but go ahead," FP told her, waving them towards the door.

"I can't believe you just said that," Jughead told her, as the five went outside.

"It's the best way to prevent questions. And to keep him from noticing a suspicious bag of Serpent masks. Now," she turned to the other teens, "Little princeling is ready to become a prince, you guys ready to teach him?"

They all nodded, and the five climbed on their bikes, following Amy to the riverbanks.

"Is this really necessary?" Jughead asked, once they had finally pulled to a stop.

"Yeah, it is," Toni told him. "You're a Serpent by blood, and FP's son to boot, but you need to be taken seriously."

"Okay, so, what do I do?"

"We'll start with the basics," Amy assured him. "You can strut or you can slouch—Sweets and Fangs are so much taller that a slouch still keeps them in pace with us, so that'll probably work for you too. It's still a power walk, but it's about the pacing. A strut means you have something more important to be doing, and don't have time for this shit; a slouch means that you don't care, and you know that everyone will wait for you. You keep your hands in your pockets, jeans or jacket, unless you're stealing or fighting. Nod, don't smile; and for fuck's sake, drop the 'please and thank you' shit."

"I—okay?"

"No. Don't ask, Jones," Sweet Pea cut in. "You sound like you're waiting for approval, that makes you look weak. Look, when it's us or your dad, we're on the same side, it's fine. Anyone else, you have to assume that they're just waiting for you to stumble. Sound like you know exactly what the fuck you're talking about, even if you don't have a clue."

"Okay," Jughead agreed, more confidently.

"Better," Fangs teased. "Now weapons. I know you carry a blade, but do you actually know how to use it?"

"No idea," Jughead told him.

"Okay, we'll work on the handling and the tricks later, but right now, all that matters is that you can open it—you just need to copy my movements."

Jughead nodded, watching carefully as Fangs pulled out his switchblade and flicked it open in one smooth movement. He tried to mimic it, failing miserably, but Fangs just smiled, walking him through it step by step. He put his knife away, moving to stand behind Jughead, placing one hand over Jughead's, and coaching him through it. It was rough, and both boys were blushing furiously, but the blade opened.

"Again," Toni demanded.

Fangs led him through it again, and this time it was slightly more fluid. They repeated it a couple of times, until it was almost perfect, and then Fangs took a step back, letting Jughead do it himself.

It wasn't perfect, but it was smooth. From reaching into his pocket to holding the blade out, ready to attack, it looked like a single movement, and Amy could feel heat pool in her gut.

"Fuck," she whispered, not quite quietly enough for the others to miss.

"Did I mess up?" Jughead asked nervously.

Amy laughed, almost hysterical. "God no, Juggy, that was, that was fucking hot as fuck," she told him.

"I thought you were ace?" Jughead asked.

"Oh, right. We haven't actually talked about that yet. Yes, I'm ace. I like sex, but I don't experience sexual attraction. That said, you don't need sexual attraction to know that, objectively speaking, you look hot as sin right now."

"We're pretty sure she has a knife kink," Sweet Pea teased.

"It's not a knife kink," Toni retorted, "it's power couple fantasies."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Or it's just hot. Juggy, do it again. Fucking watch him."

They all listened, and Jughead repeated the move, even more fluidly than the last time.

"Well?" Amy asked.

"Okay, so, yeah you might be onto something," Sweet Pea agreed.

"Good. Now, ready to rally the troops?"

Jughead nodded, and Amy pulled out her phone. There was a group chat for the teen Serpents, which Jughead had recently been added to, affectionately referred to as 'Slyther In'. He saw Amy's message come through, a demand for everyone to meet at the riverbanks immediately, but silenced his phone as the flood of affirmatives came through.

Serpents started to show up shortly, forming a circle around he and Amy.

"What's this about, Jones?" Ricky asked, when the last few Serpents arrived.

*"Penny Peabody has got my dad dealing drugs. I know this, cause she had me doing it before him. Now, she's roped in Tall Boy and Sweet Pea* and Amy. *I don't want the Serpents to end up like the Ghoulies. And I doubt that any of you became Serpents just to be at the beck and call of a drug queen pin. I know where this ends. Death. Jail. Which is why, in the interest of self-preservation, we have to take out Penny."

"Snake Charmer's helped some of us,"* Lottie argued.

"At what cost?" Amy asked.

*"How many favours?" Jughead continued, "Now, if we don't stop Penny tonight, she is going to get every single one of us in on this. I promise you. I promise you."*

"FP is our King," Amy added, "If Peabody can turn him into a dancing monkey, what does that say about any of us? Penny betrayed the Serpents, she broke the law."

*"What I'm asking," Jughead said, "is are you willing to risk your necks to save* the Serpents?"

There was a moment of silence, before Toni spoke up.

*"What is the first law?" She asked, voice loud and clear.

"No Serpent stands alone," every single Serpent in the clearing chorused.*

With everyone in agreement, Amy began to lay out their plan. Once she was certain that everyone was in agreement, she handed out Serpent masks, the ones they used for The Beast.

"You don't want her being able to point any fingers, just in case she tries to make a stink. She should only be able to see me and Jones."

Soon everyone had a mask, and Amy directed them to the tattoo parlour where Penny had her lair.

When only the five remained, Toni shoved her mask into Amy's hands.

"If she's seeing you, she's seeing us too."

"Toni—"

"Ride or die," Toni reminded her.

"Ride or die," Amy replied. "Fine. Toss them back in the bag."

All three of her partners did so, before they climbed onto their own bikes, quickly catching up to the other Serpents outside of the parlour.

It was surprisingly easy to ambush Penny, and get her to the docks just outside of Greendale; Amy had honestly expected her to have at least a couple of lackeys around.

She decided not to question her luck—Penny was definitely conceited enough to believe that no one would ever side against her.

*"Where am I?" Penny demanded*, when Toni yanked the hood off of her head.

*"You're in Greendale. Your new home. But frankly, Penny, I don't care where you set up shop. But it's not gonna be in Riverdale and it's not going to be with Serpents." Jughead told her.

"You want to deal drugs, you want to extort people, that's your business. But not on the Southside. That belongs to us,"* Amy continued.

*Penny laughed, "You stupid, cocky kids. Serpent law says you can't hurt one of your own."*

Penny looked around the circle, eyes stopping on Fangs.

"You really gonna let them do this to me, Eddie?"

' _Fangs'_ Amy mouthed to Jughead, while Penny was facing away from them.

Fangs said nothing, not budging in the slightest from his spot beside Sweet Pea.

"Standing aside?" Penny asked mockingly. "Oh Eddie, you always were one to let someone else take charge."

Fangs flushed red, in both anger and embarrassment, and a series of confused glances between his partners confirmed that none of them knew what was going on.

"You still flush that pretty pink, don't you Eddie?" She cooed.

That was all it took for the pieces to click in Amy's head, rage flooding her veins.

"You say another word to him and I slit your fucking throat, Peabody," Amy told her.

She didn't yell; she didn't need to. Her voice was hard and cold and absolutely deadly, and in her peripheral vision she could see Jughead, Toni, and Sweet Pea making the same connection that she had—Amy was glad that she had made the other Serpents stand slightly further back, hopefully none of them had heard anything.

"You can't hurt me, Princess," Penny sneered, "A Serpent never betrays its own."

"Oh Penny," Amy cooed, "you broke the law first—you betrayed the Serpents—and you're not a Serpent anymore. The laws don't protect you."

Penny turned back to Fangs. "Come on, Eddie," she goaded. "We both know you could never hurt me. After all, I was your first. I'll always be your first."

Amy was done. She flipped her switchblade open, approaching the woman. She grabbed her arm, slicing through flesh, until her Serpent tattoo was in Amy's hand, and then tucked into the box she had brought along.. She ignored the woman's screams, ignored the blood dripping down her hands, ignored everything except for her absolute fury.

"Keep talking and your tongue will be next, bitch. And if you ever show your face in Riverdale again, you'll be leaving in a body bag."

Amy spun on her heel, walking away with her partners close on her heels, and the other Serpents circling around the outskirts to meet them back at their bikes.

"No one talks about what just happened unless you want to be next," Amy told them simply. "I'm going to tell FP the truth, but beyond that, nothing happened. Are we clear?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now just—don't come back to the Wyrm right now. Do whatever the fuck you want. But if you tell anyone about any of this, your tattoos will be joining Penny's and I'll start up a collection."

She waited until everyone had left before getting on her bike.

"Sweets, Fangs, Toni? Head back to Juggy's, okay? We'll talk to FP and then meet you there."

Fangs didn't react; hadn't reacted to anything since Penny first called him 'Eddie', but Toni and Sweet Pea nodded, and the five took off, breaking several traffic laws to reach Riverdale as soon as possible. They split ways when they got to the Southside, and as much as she hated to leave Fangs in a state like his, she knew that she needed to talk to FP and that reliving it would be even worse for Fangs.

She and Jughead made their way to the Wyrm, seeing FP in the corner on his phone.

"Let me guess," Amy drawled, "Peabody didn't show?"

"What the fuck did you two do?" FP demanded.

"We got rid of her," Jughead said, "drove her out of Riverdale."

"And I got my pound of flesh," Amy added, lifting the box.

"Are you out of your fucking minds?" FP shouted, before burying his face in his hands.

"You know what? After what she did to Fangs, she's lucky I left her breathing."

"What did she do to Fangs?" FP asked, anger fading away to concern.

"It's not my place to say, and I don't know the details, but, well—it was bad. Really bad. And look, if she does come back, we'll take care of her, FP. All of us."

*"In unity, there is strength," Jughead recited.

"Oh, god," FP groaned,* and Amy didn't know whether he was reacting to Jughead's words or to what she had said about Fangs.

*"That's the sixth law," Jughead continued. "While you were in jail, I recited that every day, I lived by that. You want to take my jacket? You want to relegate me to Toys for Tots, fine. But I am still a Serpent, Dad, and this, this life that you wanted to protect me from? I'm proud ot this. I'm proud of you I am. You can't take that away from me."*

"He's turning into a real Serpent Prince," Amy told FP, smiling fondly. "And look, I did the dirty work. If Penny wants to start shit, it's with me, not with him—not with you. But she won't be back."

"God, kid…"

"I don't regret what I did," Amy insisted. "She fucking deserved it. She deserved worse. But look, what's done is done, and now I need to get back to Fangs. We good?"

"We're good, Adams," FP agreed. "And Amethyst?"

"Yeah?" Amy asked, taken off guard by the use of her first name.

"You protected your own. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Amy whispered, trying not to cry.

"Hey, c'mere you two," FP mumbled, pulling the two teenagers into a hug. "Now go, take care of your boy."

"Roger that," Amy teased.

She and Jughead left the bar, heading straight to the trailer. She was relieved that one of the others, probably Toni, had left the door unlocked, not sure that she would have had the patience to deal with that.

She walked into the trailer, heading straight for the bedroom while Jughead stopped to lock the door. When she walked into the room, she saw Fangs curled up in the middle of the bed, with Sweet Pea and Toni wrapped around either side of him.

Amy kicked off her boots, tossing her jacket to the floor, and climbed into the bed, squeezing herself between Fangs and Sweet Pea. Jughead joined them a moment later, leaving his own shoes and jacket on the floor beside hers, climbing in behind Toni and reaching an arm around to hold Fangs.

"Fangs, Love? What was Penny talking about?" Amy asked gently, pressing her forehead against his.

Fangs took a shuddering breath. "Back before… before the relationship, before we were really friends, when I first started hanging around before my Gauntlet… Penny—she—she would talk to me. She was the only one who ever really did back then. She told me that I had—" he swallowed hard, trying to ignore the tears streaming down his face—"potential. And I mean… I was still thirteen, and no one gave a shit about me, and then this grown woman was talking about my potential and my talent and I felt… I felt special. And then she started saying that I didn't appreciate her, that I should show her how thankful I was. And… and I did… again and again… and then there was that fight at school, remember? And my arm got broken defending Lottie, and then suddenly people were talking to me and then we were friends and I ended everything with Penny… and I ran the Gauntlet and I was actually in, and then we, you know… and I just—I never wanted you guys to know. It's disgusting, I know that. I'm disgusting. And look, I get if you guys want to end—"

"Don't you dare suggest that we would want to end things. Penny is disgusting for what she did to you, but we could never be disgusted by you, Darling. Not about this, not about anything, not ever," Sweet Pea promised.

He leaned in, going to kiss him, but then seemed to remember what they were talking about, and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead instead.

"We love you, Fangs," Toni added, "no matter what. It's us against the world, right? And that includes Penny."

"Fangs, I… I know that I'm not part of this, not like these guys, but they're right. What Penny did to you was horrible, and she deserves way worse than just losing her tattoo, but none of it is your fault. We're not going to look down on you because of this, and we'd definitely never hate you for it."

Fangs looked at them, a smile lighting up his face even through the tears.

"What do you need, Love?" Amy asked.

"Can we just, stay like this? Until I fall asleep?"

"Of course," Amy agreed immediately. She pressed herself closer to him, allowing Sweet Pea to do the same, and on Fangs' other side, she saw Toni and Jughead do the same.

The five of them stayed like that, holding each other close, until Fangs drifted off to sleep, and for a while after that. Amy eventually did slide away, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket.

 **Red:** _I need you ames, come over?_

 **Ames:** _on my way_

"I need to go," she informed them abruptly. "Archie texted me and I need to get to him, like, five minutes ago. When he wakes up, please tell Fangs that I love him."

"We will," Toni promised.

"Do you want me to come with?" Jughead asked.

"Not yet, Juggy. I don't know what's going on. I'll call if I need you though, promise." Amy kissed the three of them, and Fangs on the forehead, grabbing her boots and jacket from the floor before taking off on her bike, pulling to a stop outside of the Andrews' house.

She didn't bother knocking, just pulled her key out and let herself in.

"Sweetheart?"

"Fred! Is Archie—"

"It's bad," Fred told her. "He won't tell me what happened. All I know is that Betty and Archie were on a bridge, Archie nearly shot the Black Hood, and Keller managed to take the shot before Archie did. I don't know what happened before that."

"I'll take care of him," Amy told him.

"I know you will, sweetheart. He's in his room."

Amy nodded, taking the stairs two at a time, running down the hallway and practically throwing herself onto Archie's bed. She pulled him into a hug immediately, needing the reassurance that he was okay; that he was still there.

"He's dead, Ames. The Black Hood. Keller shot him."

"I heard," Amy told him, heart breaking when she saw the blank look in his eyes. "What happened?"

"Me and Betty, we got a call from the Black Hood. Told us that if we wanted to save Mr. Svenson—the janitor's—life, then to meet him at the site of the first sin. We figured it out, talked to Rose Blossom… his family was murdered, and he blamed the wrong man for the murder. He was buried alive in the forest, and we… we did some digging and found the tree, and we went. And, Ames, there was a grave, and two shovels, and it had his name. And god help us, we dug it up. There was a casket, and I climbed down to open it, but it was empty. When I turned around, the Black Hood was there and he was pointing a gun at me and told me to get in. I said no, but then he said that he would kill Betty if I didn't—and I did, Ames, I got in."

All Amy could do was hold him close, cradling his head in her neck and rocking back and forth as she watched her best friend—her big brother—fall apart, talking about being buried alive.

"He made Betty shut me in, made her fill the grave. And I don't know what happened then, but there were sirens and suddenly Betty was opening the casket, and he was gone. We ran after him, Ames, down to Sweetwater Bridge. And I had his gun—I don't remember taking his gun, but I had it—and I was going to shoot, I would have shot, I thought I did, when I heard a gunshot. But Sheriff Keller was there, he took the shot. And then he took the hood off, and Ames… It was Mr. Svenson. God, we even suspected him but I didn't recognize his eyes, and god, Ames, maybe if I had realized it then I could have done something different." He trailed off, unable to continue to form words around the sobs in his throat.

"Red, oh my god, Red, I am so fucking sorry. But, you're going to be okay, Red, I promise. It's going to be okay."

"How?" Archie asked, broken.

"With a lot of time, and probably therapy. But he's dead now, Red, he can't hurt you, or anyone else, ever again."

"Betty kissed me," Archie said suddenly.

"What?"

"Earlier—her grandpa was one of the men who buried the wrong man, the first sin. I… I don't know, we were talking and then we were kissing and god, she's Juggy's girl, I shouldn't have done that."

"Did you kiss her, Red? Or did she kiss you?"

"She kissed me—what difference does it make?"

"It means that you're not to blame for that. But, even so, she and Jughead broke up last night, same as you and Veronica."

"They did? Wait, how do you know that?"

"Toni told me—she overheard them. Juggy hasn't given us all of the details yet, but something about protecting her from Serpent shit? Which, I mean, after today that's pretty fair…"

"What happened today?"

"Is this you needing a distraction, genuine curiosity, or do you want to try to convince yourself that you don't have a right to be upset about what happened to you?"

Archie looked away for a moment, "The first two," he said eventually.

"You sure?" Amy asked.

"I'm sure, Ames. I know I haven't always—or ever—been on good terms with Serpents, but it's your life, and I want to know what's going on in your life."

"Okay, so, you remember Peabody?"

"Of course?"

"She's been trying to blackmail Jughead into being her permanent drug mule. FP found out, didn't retire, took Juggy's spot. Anyways we went back to the Wyrm this morning, and me and Sweets went on a run with him, then we kidnapped Peabody and brought her to Greendale and I cut off her tattoo and told her that if she ever came back I'd kill her. Nothing all that glamorous."

"You—you called him Juggy?"

Amy blushed, "Yeah, I did."

"Since when do you call him Juggy?"

"Since I sucked him off, like, a month ago."

"You gave him a blowjob?" Archie asked, looking at her in shock.

"I also fucked him last night," Amy shrugged.

"You… you fucked my best friend?"

"I literally offered to suck you off last night, Red, fucking your best friend doesn't even make the Top Ten list of fucked up shit you know I've done."

Archie laughed, hysterical, and soon Amy joined him, until they tired themselves out and fell asleep.

When Fred went to check on them, later that night, he found them curled up together in the same way they did when she first moved in at nine years of age, and the only way to prevent her nightmares about the Sisters was for her to share a bed with someone.

They woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes. They looked at each other in confusion before padding downstairs, finding Fred at the kitchen counter.

"Merry Christmas," he grinned, piling pancakes onto a plate.

"It's… Christmas?" Amy asked.

"It's Christmas. Now eat up and I'll drop you back at FP's, alright?"

Amy nodded, smiling up at him. She and Archie sat down at the counter, digging into their pancakes, and Fred joined them shortly.

"Are you coming for Christmas dinner?" Archie asked.

"I… I don't think so. I love you guys, and I love spending Christmas here, but after that one Christmas? Sweets and I don't handle separation and Christmas very well."

"Bring him," Fred said, "Toni and Fangs too, if you want. I already invited FP and Jug, we can make it into a proper family Christmas."

Amy's eyes widened. "You mean that?"

"Of course I mean that, sweetheart."

Amy immediately pulled out her phone, sending them a message.

"Everyone's in," She reported. "We've got some of our own traditions first, but we'll come over with FP and Juggy?"

"Alright," Fred smiled. "Now finish up so that I can get you to FP before he accuses me of hogging you."

Amy giggled, finishing her plate. She put it in the sink, grabbing her jacket and boots and climbing into the truck. Fred joined her a moment later, driving her to Sunnyside.

"I'll see you tonight, sweetheart. Love you."

"Love you too," Amy said, before climbing out of the car.

"Just in time," FP greeted from behind the stove, "Hot chocolate is almost ready."

"Fred told you when we were leaving, didn't he?" Amy asked, kicking off her shoes and hanging up her jacket.

"He did," FP admitted, "now why don't you go wake the sleepyheads up?"

Amy smirked, "Don't mind if I do."

FP laughed, watching her run into the bedroom. A moment later he heard a crash, followed by an "It's Christmas!" which he knew meant that Amy must have jumped on the bed.

He heard more voices, and smiled. He missed Gladys, and Jellybean, but the sound of laughter in his trailer was something he'd missed since long before he was arrested.

It had been a couple of minutes since he heard them wake up, and no one had left the bedroom.

"Hey, no funny business while I'm here!" He reminded them.

"No funny business!" Amy called back.

It was another minute before they emerged, and FP saw what had caused the delay. All five of them were wearing the green flannel pajamas that he had gotten them for Christmas a couple of years previous. He had been getting them for Jughead, but there was a sale and he wanted to do something nice for his Serpent kids. While Amy's were still too big on her, Sweet Pea and Jughead's pants both rose well above their ankles, and Sweet Pea had broadened enough that he had left the shirt open, wearing a white tank top underneath. He passed out mugs of hot chocolate—the good kind, cooked over the stove with milk and vanilla—and joined them in sitting in a circle on the floor.

Once the mugs were emptied, Amy bounced to her feet.

"Snowball fight!" She reminded everyone.

"I think I'll sit this one out," Jughead tried to say, but Amy rounded on him quickly.

"It's our tradition, Juggy," she insisted, "and you're one of us now. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"I'm not really a snowball fight kind of guy."

Amy jutted out her lower lip, eyes widening slightly in the pout she had perfected back when she was a little girl, running around the Wyrm when her father would dump her there because he couldn't be bothered to look after her.

"Please, Juggy?" She asked, and FP watched Jughead's resolve fade.

"Okay, fine," he agreed.

The teenagers piled into the bedroom, and returned a while later in more weather appropriate clothing. Amy even traded her usual heels for Toni's spare combat boots, much less dangerous with ice and snow. FP waved goodbye as they set off to the riverbanks, smiling fondly as he heard their laughter echo throughout the trailer park.

They returned hours later, faces flushed but smiles bright, and gladly accepted more hot chocolate.

"Okay, get changed and we'll head over to Freddy's."

He was glad that they had removed their jackets and boots at the door, rather than traipse snow across the trailer.

The boys didn't look any different than usual, in jeans and t-shirts, and Toni had only softened her look slightly, with black leggings instead of jeans, and one of Sweet Pea's hoodies rather than her usual mesh numbers. Amy clearly didn't feel like she had to impress anyone, which was a nice change in FP's mind. She wore black leggings and fuzzy socks, and a sweater that had once belonged to either Fred of himself. It came down to her knees, swallowing her whole, with 'Fred Heads' printed on.

The teens piled into the Jeep, but for once Sweet Pea handed the keys to Fred, instead sitting in the back with Amy, who was more in his lap than on her seat.

They pulled up to the Andrews' house, and Fred opened the door. For just a moment, Fred and FP could only stare at each other, before Amy pushed past FP to hug Fred.

The evening was one of the most pleasant that FP could remember having, possibly ever. With Christmas music playing in the background, occasionally interrupted by Archie playing something of his own, and once by Amy insisting that Fred and FP bring back the Fred Heads, delicious food, several Christmas movies, and laughter echoing throughout the house, FP realized that while his wife and daughter were absent—and of course he missed them, he always missed them—he had his family together for Christmas. Amy was the first to tire, having spent half of the night forcing everyone to dance with her, and yawned loudly.

"What do you say, Freddy, time to put the kids to bed?"

Fred laughed, while six identical protests arose.

"You kids can take the guest room," Fred offered.

"And you two?" Amy asked, with a raised eyebrow and knowing smirk, and sometimes FP hated just how much she took after the two of them.

"We shared a bed or two in high school, we'll be fine," he teased.

"Jug can stay with me," Archie offered—he knew that his friend had slept with the other Serpents, but Amy never specified what their relationship was.

"I was actually thinking that he could stay with us?" Amy asked, voice soft.

"You know, if we push the coffee table out of the way and push the air mattresses together, I bet you could all fit down here," Fred offered, knowing how clingy Amy tended to be at Christmas, when her memories of the Sisters were usually at their worst.

Amy looked at him hopefully, and Fred resolved to do whatever it took to make it work. He quickly set about instructing everyone on what to do, and before long they had the air mattresses pressed together and ready to be slept in.

"We'll let you kids get settled in," FP said, as the two men moved to the kitchen.

It was awkward, for just a moment, before they sorted themselves out. Toni and Amy took the middle, with Fangs and Jughead beside them, Sweet Pea and Archie on the outsides.

It was a strange feeling for Archie, whose sleepovers with Jughead typically involved separate mattresses, but he was as familiar with Amy's clinginess as Fred was, and couldn't bring himself to deny her anything. Amy leaned her head on Jughead's chest, tapping at him.

"What are you reading, Juggy?" She asked.

Jughead was struck for a moment by just how young she looked in that moment, feeling his heart swell with affection.

"A Christmas Carol," he told her.

"Can you—can you read it to me?" She asked.

Jughead's eyes drifted to where her hearing aids were visible on the coffee table, but one look at her hopeful face was all it took for him to agree. They shifted for a moment, until her head was resting on his sternum, with his arms around her, lifting the book so that he could still read it.

That was how Amy fell asleep, soon after, and the others followed suit. It wasn't long until Jughead was the only teenager left awake, still reading softly, while the two fathers watched fondly from the kitchen.

Okay honestly so much happened in this chapter, and I wrote it between the hours of 12 and 6 am, but technically speaking this counts as six chapters in six days because it's still Saturday somewhere!

As always, I really hope that you guys enjoyed it, and feel free to visit me on tumblr (randomestfandoms-ocs) if you want to talk, because I never want to shut up about this project

Also I will be writing a side fic about That Christmas, aka 8 year old Amy's christmas with the Sisters, which will mostly be focused on baby amy and sweet pea!


	10. My Voice Is My Weapon of Choice

Christmas is over, and that means it's back to school. But not just any school, no, the Serpents are being transferred to Riverdale High, and now it's time for everyone to decide which hill they're willing to die on.

Chapter title is from Fight Like a Girl by Emilie Autumn

Note: huge shoutout to Darknight and V0rtexFM for talking to me about this fic *constantly* and not only enduring, but encouraging my bullshit, and helping me come up with wonderful ideas!

WARNING: honestly I think just the normal warnings for some underage drinking and canon typical violence, this was a pretty chill chapter for me

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

My Voice Is My Weapon of Choice

Winter break was over, and the Serpents had barely been at school for an hour before they learned that their school would be closing, and they would be transferred to various schools nearby.

Amy, Fangs, Jughead, Sweet Pea, and Toni split off from the rest of their gang to discuss the quarantine, before Jughead asked the one question that all five of them were dreading.

*"Where are you guys going?"

"Same as you," Sweet Pea said, "and you," he added, looking at Toni, "and Fangs*, and Amy. We're going to Riverdale High."

"Are you kidding me?" Jughead asked.

"What's your problem, Jug?" Toni asked.

"Riverdale High is hell, Toni."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "You think Riverdale High is hell? Have you not been here for a few months now? Look, Juggie, I know that you had a rough time there, but you have us now. We've got your back. And besides, at least we have a shot at an actual education now. That's more than any of us could have said about this place."

Jughead sighed, "Fine. So what do we do with the rest of today?"

"Well, no doubt Amy needs to plan an outfit," Fangs teased, "but other than that? Fuck around at the Wyrm, teach you some more knife tricks and maybe how to play pool?"

"That sounds right," Amy agreed. "But I can deal with outfits tonight, so Wyrm?"

The others nodded, and they climbed onto their bikes. They pulled into the Wyrm, and immediately claimed two pool tables. Amy and Fangs sat on the edge of one, while Toni and Jughead set up the other, with Sweet Pea moving behind Jughead to teach him how to play. The boys were still all in the awkward stage, blushing whenever they so much as brushed hands, but Sweet Pea was by far the best at pool.

The taller boy wrapped his arms around Jughead, pushing him down slightly and showing him how to figure out where he wanted to aim. Jughead blushed, and Amy had a feeling that he wasn't retaining any of the lesson, a thought which she quickly leaned over to share with Fangs.

"Maybe not, but we get twice the view," he whispered back.

Amy laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It's a very nice view," she added, when Toni bent over to take her shot.

The two of them continued their whispered conversation while they watched the game, rolling a ball from the other table between themselves.

Eventually the game ended, with Toni winning, and Jughead decided that he needed a break.

"From losing or from Sweet Pea pressing against your ass?" Toni teased.

Jughead blushed, looking away, "oh shut up, Toni."

"Both," Sweet Pea mock whispered.

"Fangs?" Jughead asked.

"My turn?"

Jughead nodded, pulling out his knife while Fangs did the same. For all that Amy may have been the most ruthless with a knife, Fangs was the best at the fancy tricks.

"C'mere," Fangs told him, leading him to the dartboard, "gonna teach you to throw it."

"Isn't that—isn't that dangerous?"

Amy laughed, "We're in a literal fucking gang, Juggie, danger is kind of the point."

"Maybe you're just an adrenaline junkie," Jughead shot back.

"Of course I am! But this is a good skill to have."

Fangs took Jughead's hand in his, wrapping his long fingers around the hilt of his switchblade.

"Yeah, maybe it is," Jughead agreed.

Fangs smirked at him, moving to stand behind him and guide him through the throw.

"You've gotta follow through," Fangs told him, "that's the most important part."

Jughead nodded, trying on his own. He didn't hit anywhere close to center, but he at least hit the board, so he pulled his knife out and tried again.

A couple dozen more throws, a round of pool, and an actual game of darts later, FP was returning from a shift from Pops, and the six of them settled in the back room for dinner.

"You know," Toni said, swallowing a bite, "I don't understand your obsession with Pops."

"Pops is sacred, Toni," Jughead told her.

"I mean, the milkshakes are good," Amy admitted, "but there's other food in the world."

"Okay, we don't need World War Three right now," FP interrupted, "I hear you kids are transferring to Riverdale?"

"Yeah, Southside is being quarantined for meth or some shit," Sweet Pea told him.

"There was never any meth though," Jughead said, "just jingle jangle."

"You sure you're not just getting caught up on that to avoid the real reason that you don't want to go back there?"

"What reason would that be, dad?"

"Betty," FP said. "Look, I know that you kids have been doing whatever it is you do—and I don't want to know what that is—but you're not over her, Jug."

Jughead refused to answer that so Amy, ignoring the growing knot in her stomach, spoke up.

"You know, Fangs, maybe you should try to seduce Kevin. He's not bad looking, and he clearly has a Serpent kink."

Fangs laughed, "I'm surprised you aren't suggesting we compete for him."

"He's pretty gold star gay," Amy shrugged, "doubt I could even get a kiss."

"Well, we'll see how it goes."

"You're both so thirsty," Toni teased.

"Yeah, and hot," Amy told her.

"No one is arguing that—"

"I'm going to cut you off now, Topaz," FP said, "I don't need to hear wherever this is going. Why don't the five of you head out and get sorted for tomorrow?"

"I mean if you were getting tired of us you could have said so," Sweet Pea laughed.

"Fine, I'm tired of you, get out," FP offered.

Amy gasped dramatically, holding a hand to her heart. "Well if you really feel that way. You're right now, I need to figure some shit out. Let's go?"

Her partners nodded, and the five of them made their way to the Jones trailer, where they had taken to spending most of their time.

Amy immediately set to work on her outfit, pulling out her favourite lace up shorts and black bra, tossing them onto the bed.

"Are you sure they'll let you wear that?" Jughead asked.

"Toss me a flannel and they will! I asked Veronica for a copy of the dress code and these shorts have an inch to spare."

"Of course they do," Sweet Pea laughed, "now come on, doll, one last night before we go to war?"

"My dad could be home any minute," Jughead objected.

"Your dad has work until close, Jug," Fangs told him, "he just wanted to spend his break with us."

"Oh. Okay, sounds good then," he agreed.

He blushed when Sweet Pea held out a hand, but took it eagerly.

"You know, the blushing virgin act was really cute when you were a virgin, but I don't know how you still get so embarrassed. Don't get me wrong, it's adorable, but how the fuck does everything still seem like your first time?" Amy asked.

Her words were harsh, but the kisses she pressed to Jughead's face softened them, and he grinned.

"It's a talent," he teased.

"And here I thought kissing was your talent," she argued.

"Oh my god," Fangs groaned, "can you two stop with the flirt-fighting just long enough for the rest of us to get in on this?"

"Nope," Amy told him, popping the 'p'. "If you want something, you have to take it."

"Well, if you insist," Fangs said, lifting her off of Jughead's lap and pulling the boy in for a kiss.

FP was grateful that, although there was no questioning what happened, at least one of them had thought to make sure they were all dressed before he returned to the trailer. He opened the bedroom door nervously, but saw that they were all dressed and asleep, and set an alarm so that he could make sure they got up for school—usually Amy or Toni would handle that, but he didn't want Amy to panic if they'd forgotten.

He was somewhat surprised that when he awoke the next morning, Amy was already up. He had set his alarm thinking that if would be at least another fifteen minutes before Amy would have planned to wake, which would have given him a buffer to wake her up if needed.

"Kiddo?" He asked, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"Couldn't sleep," she admitted.

She sat down on the couch next to him, and he noticed that her hair was wet—clearly she had been up long enough to shower. She was dressed, in lace up shorts and an oversized flannel, but she was wearing a towel like a cape to keep her clothes dry.

"This transfer is really stressing you out, isn't it?" he asked.

"It is," she agreed, "I mean… everyone there hates us. Like okay, that's not really anything new, but usually when people have a problem with me I can kick their asses and they'll all back off, but I can't do that here. And I'll be on their turf."

"C'mere, kiddo," he told her, lifting an arm.

She slid closer, allowing him to wrap his arm around her, and tucking her face into his chest.

"Listen to me, Amethyst, you're going to be fine. All of you will. You've never needed your fists to defend yourself; you're as brutal with your words as a knife and you know it. Besides, you'll have these guys with you. They'll look out for you, and you'll look out for them. You five are ride or die, that's what you always tell me, and a new school won't change that."

Amy smiled at him, blinking away tears, "promise?"

"Promise," he agreed, "but I need you to promise me something too. Keep an eye on Jug, alright? He had a rough time there and a lot of people, Weatherbee included, won't be happy to have him back."

"We'll protect him," Amy promised, "no matter what."

"That's my girl," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "now go wake everyone up, I'll cook up some eggs."

"You're the best," she told him, pulling away from him.

She entered the bedroom, slamming the door loudly.

"Wake up, fuckers!" FP heard her shout.

He let out a laugh; his girl was a spitfire alright. He knew that she'd be okay, that all five of them would be.

They came out shortly, with Toni's outfit looking as carefully planned as Amy's, while the boys looked like it was just a normal day. FP handed them all eggs, except for Amy, who just got a plate of toast.

"Figured you'd want something light," he explained.

"Thanks, FP," she said, smiling slightly.

FP didn't comment when she still only finished half—he knew that she'd always struggled to eat when she was nervous, and that her year with the Sisters had made it a lot worse. She had never explained, he didn't know if she ever would, but he knew that it had to have been bad.

They finished eating, and no one commented when Amy spent close to ten minutes making sure that her hair and makeup were absolutely perfect, not a speck or span out of place, before they finally donned their jackets like armor, and climbed onto their bikes.

They followed Jughead to the building, meeting with the rest of the teen Serpents outside of the building.

"Alright, listen up," Amy ordered, and everyone fell silent. "We're on Bulldog territory right now, got it? I hate it as much as any of you, but we need to play by the rules. Push them, by all means, but don't break them. No one wants us here, they'll take any excuse to get rid of us, but we need to stick together and make sure that we don't give them any ammunition against us. That said, don't take their bullshit. Stand up to them, but don't instigate anything. No matter what. We clear?" Everyone nodded, and Amy clapped once, "Let's go."

The teens made their way to the door; the five partners took the front, of course, with a sea of Serpent jackets fanning out behind them. As they entered, Amy fell to her usual position, front and center, with Jughead right behind her, Toni and Fangs on either side of him, and Sweet Pea directly behind him.

They stopped in front of a table, which blocked off most of the hallway. Amy saw Veronica standing behind it, clearly responsible for the little show, with Archie and Kevin standing by her. As soon as the Serpents came to a stop, Archie was pushing around the table, pulling Amy into a tight hug that almost lifted her feet off the ground. As soon as he set her down, Kevin pulled her into a –less enthusiastic, but still welcoming– hug of his own.

Veronica, clearly not liking that they had interrupted what was surely a carefully crafted speech, cleared her throat pointedly.

*"Friends," she greeted, and Amy rolled her eyes. "On behalf of the students and faculty here at Riverdale High, welcome to your new school! To ease this transition, I've set up a registration desk where you can get your locker assignments, class schedules, and a list of sports and extracurriculars—" Amy watched as Kevin and Archie grimaced at each other, while the Serpents exchanged eye rolls and dry grins—"We encourage each and every one of you to drink deeply from the cup that is fair Riverdale."*

"God, Ronnie," Amy laughed, "a bit over the top? We know people don't want us here, it's fine. Besides, Jonesy here only left like—what was it—two months ago? He can show us around."

Jughead placed his hands on her shoulders, a show of support that Amy appreciated.

"Well—" Veronica started, and for a moment Amy wondered if there was more to her welcoming committee than they knew.

*"Stand down, Eva Peron!" a new voice called, as Cheryl Blossom descended the stairs, followed by Reggie Mantle and a group of girls in cheerleading uniforms.

"There's the school spirit I so fondly remember,"* Jughead scoffed, and Amy reached one of her hands up to squeeze his—a reminder that he wasn't alone this time.

*"Cheryl," Veronica greeted, "No one invited Fascist Barbie to the party."

"Wrong, Veronica, no one invited Southside scum to our school."*

"I mean, technically yeah they did," Amy pointed out, wishing that she could just pull out a knife and get this over the top bullshit over with—Veronica's and Cheryl's both.

*"Listen up, Ragamuffins," Cheryl continued, "I will not allow Riverdale High's above average GPA to suffer because of classrooms that are overcrowded with underachievers. So please, do us all a favour and find some other school to debase with your hardscrabble ways."

"Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?" Toni demanded, and her partners shifted immediately, careful slouches turning hard as they prepared to back her up.

"Happily, Queen of the Buskers."*

"Jesus fuck," Amy sighed.

*"Okay guys, everyone, can we just put our Northside-Southside differences apart and start over? A new slate?" Archie asked.

"You don't speak for the Bulldogs, Andrews," Reggie told him, "And need I remind you, these greaser-snakes showed up at your place trying to kick your ass."

"Happy to finish what was started," Sweet Pea offered, pushing through the group towards the Bulldogs.

"God, I am so over the toxic masculinity in this hallway right now," Veronica said.*

Amy scoffed, loudly, "Do you fucking rehearse these things?" she asked, voice cutting easily over the crowd. "You guys don't want us here, we don't really want to be here, it's fine. But, we are here, and for the record, Blossom, we were invited, so why don't you all chill the fuck out and let us get our schedules and then spend the rest of our academic careers ignoring each other, hm?"

She grabbed the pile of schedules, handing them out to her Serpents without a problem. She was sure that Veronica wouldn't appreciate her taking over, but her gang came first, and she wasn't going to let any of them suffer because of some Northside power struggle.

Sweet Pea was still tense, she noticed, but before she could do anything Jughead had a hand on his back, disguised as pushing him away from the Northsiders, and he immediately relaxed. Not entirely, he wasn't an idiot, but enough that Amy could keep her focus on the rest of her gang. She directed everyone to their classrooms, remembering the map that Jughead had made for her the day before, before finally regrouping with her partners.

Their first day passed uneventfully. It was a pain to have to interrupt their teachers before they could even use their full names, to give them the names that they preferred, but they managed. Soon enough, they were leaving their class, thankfully at least two of them shared every one of them, and Archie was dragging her into a classroom—the music room, by the look of things.

"Did you know, Ames?"

"I know a lot of things, Red, I need you to be specific."

"Nick St. Clair. That he tried to assault Veronica?"

"She told me that he tried to 'get with her' and that she was worried about what might happen. I didn't know it was assault, I thought it was just that he hit on her and she shut him down."

"Cheryl just told me. I can't just… god, Ames, I can't just do nothing," Archie sighed.

"Then you don't. We can always kill him," she suggested.

"Ames—" He was interrupted by the door being pushed open.

"There you two are! Come on, everyone is in the lounge. I thought we could do with a proper round of introductions with your four and all of us," Veronica told them.

"Literally everyone knows me," Amy pointed out.

"But no one else really knows anyone. We all only met them at the hospital."

"Well, Kevin knows them all, and so does Archie—"

"He does? Wait, Archiekins, you do?"

"We all spent Christmas at his place," Amy explained easily, "The six of us, Fred, and FP. Look, I don't know what kind of power play you and Blossom are caught up in, and I don't really care, but my Serpents won't be in the middle of it. We can sit around and play nice, but we're not your charity case of the week, alright?"

"That's not—"

"I don't know exactly what your motives are," Amy admitted, "but they're not altruistic."

She pushed past the two Northsiders, making her way down the hall to the lounge. She was, again, incredibly grateful for Jughead's map, and resolved to thank him properly when they got out for the day.

She was momentarily amused to see Kevin and Sweet Pea sharing a couch, although very far on opposite ends—she had expected Fangs to be more his type, but, she reminded herself, he was definitely into Joaquin's dominant streak, which was more of Sweet Pea's thing—and then scoped out the rest of the room. Toni had claimed an arm chair, while Jughead and Fangs shared a couch, sitting closer together than Sweet Pea and Kevin, and the only other Northsider in the circle was Josie McCoy, who was standing.

Amy immediately took a seat on Fangs' lap, tossing her legs over Jughead's. She felt him set a hand on her calf, even as she kept an eye on Veronica, who had just dragged Archie into the room.

*"I don't think we've properly met," she said, surveying the room, "Veronica Lodge."

Jughead leaned in, "Of the Park Avenue Lodges," he whispered conspiratorially.

"Toni. Topaz."

"Oh, like the purple-coloured gemstone. Love it."*

Amy and Toni exchanged a glance, trying not to laugh.

"Amy Adams," Amy told Josie, the only person she hadn't formerly met.

*"Josie. Formerly of the Pussycats, now just Josie. And this is Kevin."*

"We've met," Fangs said, smirking at the Northside boy.

*"You guys!" Weatherbee called, stepping into the room. The circle of teenagers looked at each other, confused. "Yes, you, come with me."

They followed him into the hall, where Reggie Mantle stood smirking over a, frankly terrible, graffiti snake.

"Now! Which of you defaced our school seal with this graffiti?"

"This is what they do, Principal Weatherbee. They tag their turf."*

"Oh my god, dumbass, we're literally all wearing our jackets right now, our snake doesn't look anything like that," Amy informed him.

*"Effective immediately, no gang behavior of any kind will be tolerated at my school. As of this moment, no more Serpent jackets—" protests rose from every Serpent in the hallway, but Weatherbee continued—"No more Serpent jackets! All tattoos are gonna be covered. Possession of any gang paraphernalia whatsoever will lead to immediate suspension. Are we clear?"*

Amy didn't wait for him to dismiss them, before turning towards the crowd of Serpents.

"You heard him, no jackets. Guess we all need to leave until we're wearing something more appropriate," she scoffed mockingly. "Whyte Wyrm, thirty minutes, spread the word."

She pushed past Veronica, Reggie, and Weatherbee, storming out of the building with her partners close on her heels. She could already see many of her fellow gang members doing the same, and knew without a doubt that they would all be at the Wyrm.

She pulled in, heading to the bar for a shot of whiskey, before climbing onto the stage. Most of the adults weren't around in the day, so she wasn't worried about their input on the situation.

"Alright, Amy, what are we going to do?" Ricky asked, once all of the teen Serpents had gathered around the stage.

"This isn't the hill we're going to die on," Amy told them, "We can play along—Sweet Pea, you're the only one with a tattoo that can't be covered with clothes, I'll take care of that for you before school. Look, guys, this is absolute bullshit and we all know it, but like I said this morning, we're not giving them an excuse to get rid of us. They can't stop us from being Serpents, just from looking like it. Tomorrow, dress as Southside as you want, just don't wear your jacket on school grounds. I'll send out a copy of the dress code tonight, memorize it, follow it, fucking weaponize it. Toe the line as much as you want, quote the dress code at them if anyone gives you shit about it, alright? Cheryl fucking Blossom thinks we're underachievers? Let's show her, and Mantle, and Weatherbee, exactly what we can achieve when we put our minds to it. Now, the adults will tell us that it's bullshit—either the policy or our reaction—so we're going to handle this ourselves, alright? Clear out before they start arriving, and we'll meet same time and place tomorrow morning to make sure that everything is good."

Everyone cleared out, as per her orders, until it was just the five teenagers.

"Are you serious, Amethyst?" Jughead demanded, once everyone was gone.

"I am, Juggie. Look, it fucking sucks, I know, but Riverdale High is the best shot any of us have of ever getting out of here. And honestly, I'd rather give up the jacket for eight hours a day than risk them splitting us all up."

"It's bullshit!" He argued.

"You're damn fucking right it's bullshit, Jones, but we're doing it anyways. And you're too fucking frustrated to realize that I'm right."

Amy took his arm, dragging him to the bathroom. As soon as the door shut, Jughead was slamming her against it, pressing his mouth to hers. Amy quickly wrapped her legs around his waist, trusting him to not drop her, and dug her fingers into his hair. One of his hands wrapped around her ponytail, pulling until she tilted her head back and he could reach her neck, and the other went under her legs to support her weight. With an almost too tight grip on Jughead's hair, Amy pulled him back to her mouth, biting at his lip. Jughead moaned, loudly, and barely a second later there was a loud knock on the door.

"Can you two keep it in your fucking pants for five minutes?" Toni called, "adults are showing up and we have a shift, Amy!"

"Fine, be out in a minute," Amy agreed, dropping down from Jughead's arms.

She looked in the mirror, the limited space not covered in graffiti, and quickly fixed her lipstick, deciding that everything else was good enough. She wiped a smudge of red off of Jughead's mouth, before the two returned to the bar.

"Looks like you two had fun," Toni teased, "the boys left for their shift.

"We were having fun—until you interrupted us," Amy said, "and it was just getting good."

"I'm offended at the implication that any of it wasn't good," Jughead told her, taking a seat at the bar to do his homework.

The evening passed uneventfully, with Toni and Amy using their break to do homework, until Fangs and Sweet Pea returned from their shifts, and Hog Eye showed up to take over from Toni and Amy. Jughead returned home, and the others returned to the Fogarty trailer, quickly changing into pyjamas and getting into bed.

Amy woke early, and set about getting ready. If Weatherbee was going to ban the jacket, she would need to remind everyone of exactly who she was. She pulled on a pair of fishnet stockings, a black lace up bodysuit which she knew wasn't technically against the dress code, and the same shorts that she had worn the day before. Her necklace, the snake tooth that she'd worn every day since she was seven, sat on the bedside table, and she quickly pulled it on, along with the rest of her usual accessories. Remembering that she couldn't have her shoulders, or the tattoo on her back, visible, she grabbed a green and black flannel which she thought might have once been Fangs'.

"You look like you're getting ready for war," Toni said, as she got dressed too.

"So do you," Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I guess we are, aren't we?"

"Something like that," Amy agreed.

The two girls continued in silence, and were fully dressed and made up by the time the boys awoke. The boys both opted to go with flannels as well, matching their girls, and Sweet Pea threw on a vest while Fangs grabbed a denim jacket.

 **Princeling:** _Running late. I'll meet you at school._

 **Princess:** _don't do anything stupid, juggie, see you there_

"Juggie will meet us at the school," Amy reported, as the four partners climbed onto their bikes and took off towards Riverdale High.

Once they arrived, Amy took her time surveying every outfit, making sure that they all fit into the dress code.

"Alright, everyone is good. I'm going to wait for Jones, but Sweets, Fangs, T, can you guys head in and make sure that Mantle doesn't start any shit?"

The three looked reluctant to leave her alone on enemy territory, but a sharp look had them nodding anyways.

Amy pulled out her phone while she waited, checking her makeup in the camera. She looked up when she heard a bike, and sighed at Jughead's jacket.

"Really, Juggie? Really?"

"I'm making a point, Amethyst. Weatherbee is banning our jackets when the varsity jackets have exactly the same effect, but he allows those because they represent Riverdale."

"Okay, yeah, the Bulldogs are basically a gang, but are you sure?"

"I'm sure," he promised, "are you in or out?"

"I'm in, Juggie, I'm always in."

Amy grabbed his arm, wrapping it around her shoulders and her own around his waist. They were Serpent royalty, they were a team, and they needed a united front.

They pushed the doors open, stopping in the hallway to make sure that everyone saw the jacket, before turning and strutting towards the lounge—and Amy was glad that Jughead had listened to her about the importance of the right walk. She almost wished that they had music, as she saw heads turn everywhere they went. They finally made it to the lounge, and Amy immediately moved to join her partners, while Jughead went to the vending machine.

"He's making a point," she explained quietly, "I don't agree with him but I need to be on his side."

Anything that they might have said was cut off when Reggie noticed the jacket, pushing himself out of his chair and heading for Jughead.

*"Take it off," he demanded, "take off that jacket, Rat Boy."

Jughead sighed mockingly, "Oh, Reggie. I don't think you know what this jacket means. Because you have no sense of honor. Or history, or loyalty."

"That's it," Reggie spat*, grabbing at Jughead's jacket.

He had barely moved before the other four Serpents were there. Fangs, Toni, and Sweet Pea went for his lackeys, but Amy went straight to Reggie. She may have been the smallest person in the room, and possibly the school, but she was absolutely vicious, and soon had wormed her way in between the two boys. She may have gotten a black eye, and what would probably turn into more bruised ribs, but she was grinning when Weatherbee interrupted them, ordering them all to his office.

*"You all have a week's detention for fighting," he told them, "But I made myself clear to you, Mr. Jones. Take off that jacket, right now, or you're suspended."

"Please, Jughead, just—" Veronica started.

"Then I guess I'm suspended," Jughead interrupted, turning and walking out of the office.

"I've got this," Amy promised her partners, before pulling Veronica aside, "Look, Ronnie, we're friends, but if you ever tell one of my Serpents what to do again, especially in public, you're going to be taking it up with me," she warned, before turning on her heel and following Jughead outside.

He was still sitting on his bike when she caught up to him, as she suspected he would be.

"So, think you made your point?" she asked, facing him on his bike.

"Not at all," he admitted, "but my suspension will run out and I'll be back to make it again."

"No, you won't. I get it, Juggie. Weatherbee tried to kick you out when shit went down with your dad, you feel like he's trying to take away your family now, and you're pissed. But we aren't going anywhere. Ever. Jackets or not, we're ride or die, remember? That includes you. In unity there is strength."

"In unity there is strength," Jughead repeated.

"Look, why don't you go to the Wyrm, calm down some, and maybe talk to your dad about this, alright? We'll be there after school and you can see how you feel then?"

"Yeah, I guess. Ride or die?" He asked nervously, still trying it out.

"Ride or die," she promised.

She pressed their foreheads together for a brief moment before she stood and returned to the school. She had barely made it through the doors before Archie was pulling her away, towards what she now knew to be the music room.

"Red? What's up?"

"I just need you to have my back, Ames."

"Always. You know that."

"Cheryl," Archie called out.

"Archie—I didn't expect you to call another meeting so soon, especially not with this—"

"Whatever you're going to come up with, don't waste your breath. I'm here for Archie right now, not the Serpents."

"And what does Archie need you for?" Cheryl asked.

*"I can't stop thinking about what Nick did to Veronica, and to you. Cheryl, that check you threw away, do you want another one from Nick?" he asked.

"I mean, of course I'd take it, but I'm afraid the ship's sailed on that one."

"Really? Because I was thinking of going to see Nick, and I could ask him for you. And I bet he'd give it to me."*

"And what does the snake have to do with any of this?"

"Amy is—"

"I'm deadly and I have my own moral code. I'm his enforcer," Amy said.

"I just need to borrow one of Jason's blazers, and something of yours for Amy."

Cheryl nodded, "Very well. Meet me at Thistlehouse after class."

She left the room, and Amy looked at Archie.

"So what, you do want to kill Nick?"

"No… I… I can't tell you right now, Ames, but I need you to trust me."

"I do. I'm in. We can take my bike to Thistlehouse."

Archie smiled gratefully, before the pair split off for their classes. When the day finally came to an end, Amy told her partners that she was helping Archie with something, and would meet them at the Wyrm later.

She met Archie by her bike, taking the unfamiliar path towards the mansion. Once they arrived, Cheryl opened the door, handing them two garment bags, as well as a bag with shoes.

"These should fit," she said simply, "bring them back when you drop of the check."

Amy took the bags, carefully arranging them on her bike for the ride back to the Andrews' house.

"I texted dad earlier," Archie told her, "he said that we could borrow the car as long as I drive carefully. He dropped it off at lunch."

"Perfect. Change then we'll head out?"

Archie nodded, and they took the garment bags to his room. Neither had any qualms about changing in the same room, though Archie still turned away from her to do so. He pulled on black dress pants, a white dress shirt, a black blazer, and a red tie.

Amy had no idea what to expect from Cheryl, although she was pleasantly surprised with what she found. She had given her a pleated grey skirt, a short sleeve white dress shirt, and a red blazer, and the second bag contained a pair of tall black pumps, which Amy hoped would fit. She changed quickly, deciding to tie the black bowtie that Cheryl had put in the bag into a loose bow, unwilling to completely give up her own style, and tightened her ponytail.

"Ames, you look—"

"I look like a Northside brat," Amy told him.

"I—yeah, pretty much. Ready to go?"

Amy nodded, and they climbed into the truck, heading to—well, Amy actually hadn't asked where they were going. Eventually they pulled up to some sprawling castle-like campus, where Archie parked the car. Amy followed him, silent. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but she would always have his back, so she let him lead her down grand hallways until they came to a door marked 'St. Clair,' which Archie pushed open.

*"Hey, Nick. Nice dorm room."*

Amy stayed silent in the background, not sure if Nick had even noticed her.

*"What are you doing here?" he stuttered, "and why are you wearing that blazer?"

"You remember Cheryl Blossom? You wrote her a check covering 'damages'? Well, that check got lost. So you're going to write it again. Right now."*

"For double," Amy corrected, smirking when Nick's eyes darted over to her. "Hey Nicky, nice place you've got here, the casts are my favourite part."

*"That's it? Money? Checkbook's in the desk,"* Nick told them, trying to ignore Amy's words.

*"I heard you got hurt pretty bad. How'd that happen?"

"Ski accident."

"Ski accident? Wow. You must really suck at skiing, Nick. So, what, you wiped out on the slopes and snapped both your legs?"

"Yeah, I wiped out on the slopes, Archie. What the hell do you care?"

"I don't care," Archie told him, "I'm just curious. You know what's weird? You come to Riverdale, act like a jackass, try to rape Cheryl, and blow some big deal between the Lodges and your folks and then skip back down to Vail for some little ski weekend? I don't know, it seems weird."

"You're not here for Cheryl."

"Yes, I am. I'm here to get what you owe her, you scumbag."

"I don't even remember you being friends with Cheryl."

"Probably because you were high for the entire time, Nick."

"Why are you really here, Archie?" Nick asked. "For Ronnie?"

"Payback for what you did to Cheryl and Veronica."

"Payback? No. No, you know what I think? I think you're a small town hick who's beginning to realize how deep into shark-infested waters he really is. Careful, when Veronica Lodge smells blood, she'll turn on you too."*

Amy stayed quiet, watching while Archie threw a few solid punches, before she finally stepped in.

"He's not worth it, Red," Amy told him. "But St. Clair? You ever come anywhere near Riverdale again, you ever fuck with me and mine again, I kill you. Got it?"

"You goddamn psycho," Nick hissed.

"Sticks and stones, Nicky, sticks and stones," Amy taunted, pulling Archie out of the room.

"Why'd you stop me?" Archie demanded, when the door shut behind him.

"Honestly? Because it'd be pretty suspicious of us to leave his room covered in blood. Come on, let's get back to Cheryl's so I can get out of these clothes."

"You brought spares, just change in the car," Archie suggested.

"Trying to get me naked, Red?" She asked, laughing when he blushed.

She followed his advice, though, and was soon back into her own clothes. She left the Serpent jacket in the car while they went to talk to Cheryl, and Amy held up the check.

"It's handled," Amy told her, "but if you want it, I'm on the River Vixens."

"And why would I do that?" Cheryl demanded.

"You don't like me, Blossom, fine. But I'm damn good at what I do. Or I could just keep the check for myself, of course. Besides, this will give you an up on Veronica, in whatever power struggle you two have going on—for all her talk about welcoming us, you're the one trying to make us into productive members of Riverdale High, or whatever bullshit you want to spin to make it look like this was your plan."

"Fine," Cheryl snapped, "now hand it over."

"Gladly," Amy said, giving her the check, immediately climbing back into the truck.

Archie drove them back to his house, and Amy shot a quick text to her partners, letting them know that she would be crashing there for the night.

She met with her partners outside of school the next morning, wearing the same thing that she had worn the day before. They had barely entered the building when they were being summoned to Weatherbee's office.

"Why are we here now?" Amy asked.

"It's been brought to my attention that *not every Southside student has the means to purchase Riverdale High acceptable clothing.* Therefore, an anonymous donor has graciously provided these uniforms, to help you all to fit in."

"To help us fit in?" Fangs demanded, "Bullshit."

"Watch your language, Mr. Fogarty, unless you want to join Mr. Jones in suspension."

"No, he's right," Amy told him, "this is bullshit. We can live without our jackets, fine, but you're literally just trading our 'branding' from something of our choice to something of yours. That's not happening. You want us to look Northside, give us the money you spent on these uniforms to buy Northside clothes, but we're not wearing the uniforms. Unless you want me to call my dad, Fred Andrews?"

"Fred Andrews isn't—"

"My dad? Yeah, he is. Has been since I was nine. So, we don't wear the jackets, you drop the uniforms. Deal?"

Weatherbee sighed, looking at four hard glares. "Fine," he agreed.

Their mornings passed without a hitch, before Jughead was pulling Amy into an empty classroom.

"Juggie, you're back?"

"Agreed to take off the jacket," he explained.

"So, what? You want to celebrate with an in school makeout?"

"No, Amethyst, I'm gathering the Serpents. We need to talk."

"About what?" Toni asked, as the rest of the Serpents filled the room.

*"Welcome," he said, "to the inaugural meeting of the Swords and Serpents Club."

"Which is what, exactly?" Toni asked.

"We are a gaming group. Sanctioned by Mr. Weatherbee himself. Where like-minded students can meet and concoct world-building, roleplaying scenarios, inhabiting fantastical heroes and dispatching mythological creatures."

Toni scoffed, "No, but really?"

"It's a club," Jughead explained, "for us. A safe haven where we can be Serpents, during school hours and under everyone's noses. We're not shedding out skins. We're lying low, in the tall grass."

"Alright guys, you heard him. From now on, we meet here during lunch and after school as a check point. Text the group if you can't make it."

Everyone nodded, waiting for further instructions.

"Dismissed, guys. School's over, head out, do whatever it is you want to do until morning."

They waited until everyone left, until it was only the five partners remaining.

"Well, what do you say?"

"An impressive scheme, Juggie," she told him, "maybe you do have the makings of a Serpent King."

"Oh I don't know, Amethyst," Jughead teased, "you're the ruthless, manipulative leader. Maybe I'm just meant to be your queen."

Okay yall, I made it two posts in a day so I can still say it was nine in nine days, we're good. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had a surprisingly fun time writing it!

If you haven't already, you should check out the two new fics that I've added to the series!

(Baby Please) Come Home is a prequel fic about Sweet Pea and Amy, the Christmas that Amy spent at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy

(Can't We Be) Seventeen is a canon (but fitting anywhere in canon) introspection on the teen Serpents


	11. The Land of Tears

Chapter title is from The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupéry

WARNING: honestly I think just the normal warnings, as well as a few mentions of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, and discussion of the Uktena genocide

As Pickens Day rolls around, the Lodge family tries to take control of the Southside, but Hiram certainly didn't expect five teenagers with no intention of ever backing down or giving up their home.

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

The Land of Tears

It had been just over a week since the transfer, and things were going as well as could be expected. Sweet Pea had gotten in trouble for his tattoo, but Amy quickly argued that it was technically covered—by hickeys, yes, but still covered—and Weatherbee had sighed and said that in the future that wouldn't count; River Vixens was going relatively well, Cheryl didn't like having a Southsider on her squad, but she couldn't deny that Amy was too good to get rid of; Toni was just happy to have a school that actually taught her something; Fangs, usually the most level-headed of the group, was trying to keep his more volatile partners and fellow Serpents out of trouble; and Jughead and Betty had come to some sort of understanding and were back together. Amy didn't seem to be happy about the latter, and had yet to call Betty by her name, but Jughead had given up on trying to get her to come around.

Yet it was Veronica Lodge's, clearly fake, desire to bring the North and Southside together that had Amy sitting on the top of the stairs inside the Andrews house.

 _"I don't know what they're up to, sweetheart, and I don't want you getting involved if you don't have to. But the Southside is somehow involved, so I think you deserve to be nearby if the plan is bad,"_ he had told her earlier.

As much as Amy wanted to be there for the entire thing, she knew that Fred had a point. If Amy was there from the start, it would look like Fred had planned for her to oppose the plan, and she knew that he couldn't be seen as opposing his partners—technically his bosses—but if she just happened to be there, and since it was technically her permanent address she had every right to be there, and overhear, then no one could blame Fred if she got involved.

She had her phone out, but was entirely focused on trying to pick up everything that was going on; even with her hearing aids on full volume, it was a challenge that required her full attention. She moved closer to the bottom of the stairs when she heard Veronica mention the Southside, and fought the urge to rush in. Their plan was absolute bullshit, and she was sure that was the reason that Fred wanted her to be there. Hire the Southside as security? Serpents were always looking for work, of course, and she knew that many other Southsiders were as well, but to hire them for a town event was an insult. Their plan wasn't to include the Southside, on what was supposed to be a day for all of Riverdale, but to alienate them under the guise of inclusivity. She'd told Veronica before, but their friendship was secondary to her Serpents.

*"I'm sure you had your reasons for closing down Southside High—"* she heard Fred start, and knew that it was her best chance to step in.

"But they were bullshit and this will only push us further away," Amy interrupted, "would probably take even less time than those dumb uniforms or your fucking raid," she added, glaring at the mayor and Sheriff Keller.

"You think?" Fred asked, somehow seeming genuinely surprised by her opinion.

"Oh, definitely—"

"I'm sorry, Amy, was it? Veronica didn't mention inviting a friend," Hiram cut her off.

"Don't fucking interrupt me," Amy hissed, "no one invited me. No one needed to."

"This is a private meeting," Hiram argued.

"This is my house. I'm well within my rights to walk down my own stairs."

"This is Fred's house."

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Hiram? This is Fred's house, which makes it mine. You know he's my dad, right?"

Of course he didn't know, but Amy enjoyed watching him fumble.

"Your last name is Adams, not Andrews. If—"

"Jesus fuck," Amy scoffed, "ever heard of adoption? Southside, born and raised, but Fred adopted me when I was younger. So yes, I live here, so yes, it's my right to walk down my own stairs, and as a Southsider, your idea is fucking bullshit."

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, finally speaking up.

"You heard me," Amy shrugged, grabbing the chair next to Fred. "If you actually cared about the Southside, not just about seeming like you do, then you'd realize that this will just offend every single fucking Southsider in Riverdale; Serpent, Ghoulie, everyone. Pickens slaughtered our people, pushed us out of our own town until we were basically given the option to live in trailers or be homeless. The Serpents were founded by the Uktena, you know. The very same people Pickens slaughtered, the very same people whose school you shut down for bullshit reasons, the very same people that you assholes arrest whenever you need a scapegoat for Northside problems."

"And how do you know so much about Serpent history?" Hiram asked.

"Right, right. Proper introduction time. Hi, I'm Amy Adams, I practically grew up in the Wyrm, and I've been an official Serpent for close to four years now. Which also makes me the only person in this room who's qualified to tell you that this is the single dumbest idea any of you have ever had, and Keller let his deputies crack my ribs and concuss me. So, if you want to celebrate a mass murderer, go for it, but leave my people the fuck out of it—"

"Dad? Ames?"

"Hey, Red," Amy greeted, standing up to hug the boy, "oh, gross, you smell like locker rooms."

"I was at basketball," he reminded her, "mind if I join?"

"Well I don't know about any of the goon squad, but I'm actually about to leave. Sleepover and all that. But I'll see you at school, yeah?"

"Of course," he promised, pulling her into a tight hug. "Love you, Ames."

"Love you too, Red. Bye Fred!"

"Bye sweetheart," Fred waved, smiling fondly as Amy grabbed her backpack, pulling out her jacket as she went, and slamming the door behind her.

They could hear the roar of her bike as she took off towards the Southside, where she quickly made her way to the Jones trailer.

"Amethyst?" Jughead asked, looking up from his typewriter.

"I need to talk to you, and your dad. It's Serpent business."

"Dad's at Pops," he told her.

"Want to head over there, or wait for him here?"

"Well I need to work on my history project, so wait here?"

"Sure. What are you presenting on?"

"Serpent history. I'm having trouble finding any primary sources though—"

"Well, have you asked Toni?"

"What do you mean?"

"Her grandpa is the oldest living Serpent. He's kind of amazing. I bet he'd be willing to talk to you if you asked."

"You're amazing," Jughead told her.

"I know. Now text Toni, I'll make dinner. Do you have any actual food?"

"There might be some ramen, and I think we have some leftover chicken from the other night?"

"Okay, I can definitely work with that. Talk to Toni, come up with some questions, dinner will be ready soonish."

"Seriously, you're the best," he said.

"Careful, Jonesey, I don't think your girlfriend would like to hear you saying that."

"Betty knows it's not like that."

"Like what? Like I've sucked you off, like you've fucked me? It was like that, you know."

"I know it was, Amethyst. I meant that it wasn't romantic."

"So she does know that we—"

"No. God, no. I know that you don't like her, I didn't think it was my place to tell her if you didn't want her to know."

"So you're not scared that she'd be pissed even though you were broken up?" Amy teased, grabbing the pack of chicken slices from the fridge.

"Well, that too," Jughead admitted.

"Don't worry, Juggie, I won't tell her either. I don't care if you do tell her, as long as the others are okay with it, but it's up to you."

"Thanks," he smiled.

"Yep, all good. Now get to work, I know you're stalling."

"You're so bossy," Jughead chuckled.

"And you love me. If you really want bossy, I could always tell Toni that you're not working on the project—"

"Nope, we're good," he promised, quickly pulling out his phone. "Text sent."

"Good. Dinner should only take a few minutes, unless you want to wait for FP?"

Jughead checked the clock, "he should be back in about half an hour?"

"Alright, we can wait then. My presentation was yesterday, but I have a Spanish test that I really need to study for."

"Why are you still taking Spanish? Riverdale offers French and I know you like that better."

"Well yeah," Amy agreed, pulling out her textbook—and she had actual textbooks now, that was weird—from her bag. "I tried, but they didn't believe me that I actually know French, so they wouldn't let me transfer mid-year."

"But you've been speaking French since—" He cut himself off suddenly.

"Since I was at the Sisters way back when. You can say it, Jug, as long as there aren't outsiders."

"I know you don't like to be reminded—"

"Listen, Juggie, you're a sweetheart for worrying, but I can handle it. I don't want to talk about it in detail or anything, but it's not like ignoring it will suddenly let me forget it."

Jughead nodded sheepishly, but took the hint and went back to his history project.

When FP showed up, a while later, Amy stood quickly to hug him before moving straight back to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

As she cooked, she filled both Joneses in on the Lodge's plan, and what she had told him.

"So, does Hiram know exactly who you are to the Serpents?" FP asked, once she was done recounting the event.

"I might have forgotten to mention that," Amy smirked.

"Of course you did. Do you think they'll actually change their plan?" Jughead asked.

"No chance in hell," FP told them both. "They're too proud to ever consider it. But now we've warned them so whatever you come up with is more or less fair game. As long as it isn't actually against the law."

"This is about Pickens and the Uktena, so I think we should leave that up to Toni," Amy decided.

"Speaking of which, she's introducing me to her grandpa tomorrow if you want to come?"

"Of course! I haven't seen him since before—well, before."

"So, kiddo," FP interrupted, "are you staying here tonight?"

"Toni and I were actually going to sleep over at the Wyrm tonight. Fangs and Sweets are staying at Fangs' with Mrs. F, and I don't think Cooper would be too happy if we were sleeping over with her boyfriend."

"You're not, you're staying with your king at his insistence. Invite her over, you can pull out the cot."

"Oh. Well, okay. I'll text her."

She did so, and Toni showed up shortly. The three teenagers finished their homework quickly, before going to bed. They woke early the next morning, getting ready for school, and met up with the other boys outside of the Wyrm.

They arrived to school early, settling into the Swords and Serpents classroom to hang out with the rest of the Serpents until it was time for class. Just like at Southside, Sweet Pea refused to let Amy go anywhere without him, but she still hated to be separated from him for the few classes they didn't share.

The end of the day came quickly, thankfully, and Amy and Sweet Pea joined Toni and Fangs on their bikes, waiting for Jughead.

Jughead, meanwhile, had just finished explaining to Veronica why Amy was right about her plan being terrible, and was on his way to meet the girls when Betty and Kevin cut him off.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"We were just talking about Betty's brother. She has a bad feeling about him."

"Well, he lived at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Betty asked.

"I might be able to learn a few things about him, but I need you guys not to ask how."

"That sounds pretty sketchy," Kevin told him.

"I know it does. But I can't tell you guys anything more, so it's up to you if you trust what I say," he checked the time on his phone, "but I have to go. Toni is probably going to be pretty annoyed with me already."

*"Plans with Toni?" Betty asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm interviewing her grandfather for my oral history report. The oldest living Serpent,"* he explained.

He left without waiting for an answer, quickly joining the other Serpents on their bikes.

"You're late," Toni told him.

"Yeah, got stopped by Veronica, who wanted me to disagree with you about the whole Pickens day thing, and then by Betty and Kevin who wanted to talk about her brother."

"Her brother?" Amy asked.

"I'll tell you when we get to Sunnyside," Jughead said.

Amy nodded, sliding on her helmet before the five took off; the trio towards Sunnyside, Sweet Pea and Fangs to the Wyrm.

They pulled to a stop outside of the trailer.

"So, Betty's brother?"

"Yeah, she just found out that she has one, and she has a bad feeling about him. I actually sort of promised I'd ask—I didn't mention you—but he grew up at the Sisters so I thought you might know?"

"I might. What's his name?"

"Charles Smith."

"Oh, Charlie! Yeah, I know him. He's a good guy. He protected me, always had my back—he's probably the only reason that I didn't lose my mind the first time around," she admitted.

"Thanks. So, Toni, you sure this is all good?"

"It's all good," Toni promised. "Grandpa is looking forward to meeting you, and Amy, he's excited to see you again."

Amy smiled, following Toni into the trailer.

"There are my two little gems," Mr. Topaz said, opening his arms for a hug, which both girls were quick to give him.

"Hey Grandpa," Toni said, pulling away.

"Hi Grandpa T. I'm sorry I haven't been around—"

"Nonsense! Toni told me that you went through some bad things over the summer, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you."

"It's not your fault, Grandpa T!"

"And it's not yours either," he assured her.

"And this is Jughead," Amy added suddenly, gesturing to the boy.

"Mr. Topaz, thank you so much for letting me ask you some questions. I haven't had any luck finding firsthand accounts on anything before the last thirty or so years, and *Toni told me that you're one of the founding memers of the Serpents."

"Yes. The snake, the laws, it's all based on Uktena tradition."

"Who were the Uktena?" Jughead asked.

"Uktena is a serpent, a horned serpent, a water serpent. Before there was Riverdale, all this land belonged to the Uktena."

"How did the Uktena evolve into the Serpents?"

Mr. Topaz laughed, "The Uktena, we didn't evolve. We were all slaughtered. When my grandpa was a baby, there was a raid, and it was led by your hero over there, General Pickens. The battle, if you want to call it that, only lasted for twelve minutes, but the dlaughter was total and savage."

"The General Pickens whose statue stands proudly in Pickens Park?"

"Yes, and every year the Northside honours this man who massacred children. When my grandpa died, we formed the Serpents as a way to keep the family together."

"How do people not know about this?" Jughead demanded.

"Well, some do, but—"

"It's called the whitewashing of history, Jones," Toni explained. "What, did you think Jason Blossom was the first person to be murdered in Riverdale?"*

"I guess I never really thought about it," he said.

"That's because you're white," Amy shrugged. "Look, you and me, we're Serpents, yes, but we're still white, and you didn't grow up in the Serpents. Of course you didn't know. And even knowing, we can't understand this the way Toni and Grandpa T do, this is their family. We can fight back, and we can try to educate people, but let's be real, if we weren't Serpents, we wouldn't even think twice about any of it."

"But it's awful."

"Yeah, Jug, it is," Toni agreed.

"And now Hiram Lodge wants to honour him? That's—"

"Bullshit? Of course it is, but what are you going to do about it?" Amy asked.

"If it's okay with you, Mr. Topaz, maybe I could write an article about it for the Blue and Gold?"

"Absolutely, Jughead. You're a Serpent, this is your history too."

They said their goodbyes before heading out. The girls went to join their partners at the Wyrm, while Jughead went to his trailer to start on his article. They met up the next morning, in the student lounge.

"So, how's the article?" Amy asked him

"It's good. I'm more or less ready to show Betty to get it published, but first I want to ask Toni to take a look."

"Yeah?"

"I thought about what you said; I'm white, it's not my place to decide what's okay to say."

"You're absolutely right," Toni agreed, "I can take a look and get it to you by the end of the day."

"Thanks, Toni," Jughead said, passing her his laptop.

Toni sat down to read it, immediately crossing pieces of it out, editing right up until they had to go to class.

When they met up after class, Toni gave him back the computer.

"Alright, Jug, there were some issues, but I changed them up and it should be good now."

"Thanks, Toni. If I get it to Betty now, we should have it out tonight."

"Just in time for Pickens Day?" Amy asked, smirking.

"Exactly."

"Speaking of Pickens Day, I called a Swords and Serpents meeting. We're not just letting this shit happen," Toni told them.

"I'll drop off the article and meet you there?" Jughead asked.

Toni nodded, and the group split off. Fangs and Sweet Pea, who had been busy texting each other, stood and walked the girls to the classroom.

"So, Toni, what's your plan?" Jughead asked, when he joined them.

"We're going to protest," Toni explained, "duct tape your mouths and make signs, we're making a point tomorrow."

"Should we meet at the Wyrm to make the signs?" Fangs asked.

"Definitely. I already texted FP, he's gathering the adults, we're meeting at seven."

"Alright, you guys heard her. Seven o'clock at the Wyrm. Be ready to make signs and shut down the Northside," Amy ordered.

She waited until the rest of the Serpents had filed out, before turning to Toni.

"You are fucking amazing, babe," she whispered, pulling the other girl in for a kiss.

"Come on, girls, save it for the Wyrm," Fangs teased.

"Fine," Amy sighed dramatically, as the five made their way to their bikes.

They took off to the Wyrm, immediately setting off to the back room. Amy pushed Toni back onto the couch, straddling her. Toni's hands tangled in her hair, pulling her closer.

"Okay," Jughead coughed, "I thought we were planning a protest."

"God," Amy groaned, "you're all a bunch of cock blocks."

"But they have a point," Toni argued. "We need to have everything absolutely perfect tomorrow,

They only had a couple of hours until the meeting, so they spent the first hour preparing for the meeting, and the second hour eating the Pops takeout that FP brought them.

Seven o'clock rolled around, and the entire gang gathered in the bar. Sweet Pea lifted Toni onto the pool table so that she could get everyone's attention.

"Alright, guys. Hiram Lodge and Mayor McCoy want to throw a big celebration for a man who slaughtered our people? We're not letting them. Jones' article is already getting a lot of traction, this is the perfect time for it. Anyone who isn't Uktena, duct tape your mouth shut. I'm going to bring a megaphone, and I'll do the talking, but this needs to be a unanimous show, got it?"

She heard a few protests from Tall Boy's side of the room, but a glare from her and a flash of Sweet Pea's brass knuckles silenced them almost immediately. The Serpents spent the rest of the night preparing, eventually being sent off with strict instructions to regroup first thing in the morning. Jughead and FP decided to join the quartet in sleeping at the Wyrm, digging out the mattresses that Amy always stored in the cleaning closet. They piled into the back room, so that FP could take the couch, falling asleep quickly despite their combined anxiety and excitement about the following day.

They woke at the crack of dawn, letting Toni send them all back to the trailer to get changed, and asking Amy to bring her back something to wear. They all dressed simply, dark jeans and flannels over black shirts, Serpent jackets proudly on display. They got back to the Wyrm before anyone else had arrived, and Toni changed quickly before joining them in the main room.

The rest of the Serpents arrived an hour later, gathering their signs and letting Toni duct tape their mouths. They didn't take their bikes, didn't want to leave them near hordes of Northsiders that they were about to piss off, and instead walked to the park.

As they entered the park, Amy noticed a blond boy standing with the Coopers, but as soon as he noticed her looking, he turned away. She filed that away for later, focusing her attention forwards, staring blankly ahead, glare pasted on her face. She was tucked between Fangs and Sweet Pea, with Toni in front of them and the Jonses right behind them. She realized that Veronica was onstage, and felt a smug satisfaction at the look on her face.

*"Toni? Jughead? What's going on?" she demanded.

Toni lifted the megaphone, voice carrying over the entire crowd. "We're here representing the dead and the silenced. Pickens Day is a lie. General Pickens slaughtered the Uktena tribe, my grandfather's family. And this land, the land that we're standing on, the land that will soon give way to a 'new Southside', was stolen from them. And we can't bring them back, but we can and we must honour them."

"Hey, folks, hi,"* Hiram Lodge said, and Amy knew that she wasn't the only Serpent growling as he interrupted Toni. *"Uh, I think we can all be proud to live in a Riverdale where young people stand up for justice. Where a young woman can defend the honour and legacy of her grandfather, and we can—"*

"Stand down, Lodge," Toni ordered, and the man fell silent. "You're the one taking away our home, and I'm tired of men talking over me about my life, my background, my legacy. The Southside isn't yours, will never be yours, and you are exactly the person we're protesting, so shut the fuck down."

Hiram stared at her blankly, seeming unsure of how to handle the Serpents, particularly the teenagers who refused to back down, and Amy knew that he had underestimated them; that he had no idea what kind of war he was getting into.

Hey guys! Sorry that the chapter took a while, I'm in the middle of finals. I'm no longer going to be posting a chapter a day, I only have 11 chapters left of season 2 and I don't want to rush them out until I have some idea of what I'm going to do next (I'm ignoring 98% of Season 3's canon because it's terrible). That said, I'll try to get at least one more chapter before I finish finals, and I'm really excited with where the rest of the season is heading!

As always, comments are always welcome, and I'm always open to suggestions of what you'd like to see happen down the line!


	12. I Bury Hatchets

It's time for Veronica's confirmation! But thanks to a decapitated statue and a whole lot of teen angst, her swearing off sin will be the perfect conclusion to a weekend of nothing but sin. Let's just hope that no one loses a tattoo this time, shall we?

Chapter title is from End Game by Taylor Swift

WARNING: Penny Peabody is back, and she's a warning of her own… other than that, underage drinking and discussions of underage sex and pregnancy tests and also this is not a Betty Friendly chapter so… sorry I guess?

 **(Cast Not Your Stone at the) Wayward Daughter**

I Bury Hatchets (But I Keep Maps of Where I Put Them)

"So, what you're saying is that Hiram fucking Lodge offered you an internship just like… a day after telling you that you would never be good enough? And you think that's not suspicious?" Amy asked incredulously, sitting on Archie's bed.

"I proved myself to him," Archie explained.

"You're not _that_ good of a wrestler," Amy argued. "Goddammit, Red, don't you get it? He's grooming you, manipulating you, trying to make sure you'll be on his side."

"Look, Ames, I know that you don't like him, but he's really not that bad. You're paranoid, you know that as well as I do, and honesty I think you're overreacting—"

"Overreacting? Really? God, I am so fucking tired of people saying that to me, Archie. I'm not crazy, okay? I'm going to go; call me when you're ready to stop trying to gaslight me and will actually listen to what I'm saying."

She stood quickly, storming out of his room quickly, slamming the door shut behind her.

She grabbed her jacket from its hook, leaving quickly.

As she was heading for her bike, Veronica walked up.

"Amy, hey—"

"What do you want?" Amy demanded, barely sparing her a glance.

"I just wanted to invite you—and Jughead, Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea—to my pre-confirmation party tonight, and my actual confirmation tomorrow."

"I'll have to talk to them," Amy told her, "dress code?"

"Tonight it's just our classmates, so you can wear whatever you want. Tomorrow is formal, but I can definitely lend you something."

"Okay. I'll talk to the others and text you," she offered, not waiting for an answer before straddling her bike and taking off towards the Whyte Wyrm.

As soon as she pulled to a stop, she was rushing into the Wyrm, grabbing Sweet Pea and Fangs by the arm, dragging them to the back room, with Toni following close behind.

"Gotta talk to you guys," she explained, "Is baby Jones here?"

"He's with Betty," Toni told her.

Amy clenched her jaw briefly, before speaking. "Well, sucks for him. We've been invited to Veronica's confirmation tomorrow, and her pre-confirmation party tonight. Thoughts?"

"Well the less time I have to spend near Hiram Lodge, the better," Toni said. "But a party could be fun."

"Boys?"

"Yeah, what Tiny said," Fangs agreed.

"Alright, so yes to the party, not to the confirmation?" Amy asked, getting three nods in return. "Sounds good. I'll talk to Jones, and if he wants to go to the confirmation, which he probably will because of Cooper, then I'll go too, and keep an eye on he and Red, but otherwise we'll only go tonight."

As she spoke, Amy pulled out her phone, texting Jughead to find out his plans. She looked up from her phone after a short moment, rolling her eyes.

"Cooper wants to go and she's insisting that her boyfriend needs to come with her. Looks like I'm going," she scoffed.

"Do you want me to come too?" Sweet Pea asked immediately, "I don't know if I want you alone with Hiram."

"I'll be okay," Amy promised, "want to meet Jones at the trailer so that I can figure out what the fuck to wear to a party full of Northside brats?"

"And people say romance is dead," Fangs deadpanned, "let's go."

Amy sent Veronica a quick text, letting her know that they would all be at the party and that she and Jughead would be at the confirmation, and the four Serpents left the Wyrm, riding over to the trailer park. They pulled to a stop beside Jughead, who had also just arrived, and made their way into the trailer.

They had just piled onto the couch, filling FP in on their days, when they heard a knock on the door.

"Sheriff Keller," Jughead greeted, opening the door.

Amy tensed instinctively, and Jughead moved slightly to put himself between the Sheriff and Amy.

*"Sorry to bother you," he started, "it's—"

"We don't have General Pickens' head, and we do not know who stole it," Jughead interrupted.

"Same as the last four times you came by to ask us and our neighbors," FP added.

"You know, Sheriff," Jughead said, "these visits are starting to feel a lot like harassment. There's absolutely no evidence. Zero proof whatsoever pointing to any particular group of suspects."

"Well," Keller countered, "you did write a rather scathing article about the General's legacy, which prompted the Southside Serpents to stop by at Pickens' Day with an ax to grind."*

"Oh, didn't you hear?" Amy spoke up, hands clenched tightly, "we were invited. By Mr. Lodge himself. But really, you might want to think twice about harassing us, Keller. Remember those ribs your deputies cracked? I never pressed charges, because Kevin is my friend, but I have it all nicely documented, and I even have a friend who writes for a newspaper."

"Is that a threat?" The Sheriff asked.

"Of course not," Amy smiled innocently, "just food for thought. Have a nice day, Sheriff."

She watched blankly as he left, relaxing the moment the door shut behind him.

"God I don't like him," she sighed.

"We know, babe," Toni agreed, "now come on, you wanted to plan an outfit."

"Right, yeah, I did…"

She let Toni pull her into the bedroom, and into a tight hug. Amy shook with suppressed sobs and leftover anxiety, letting Toni run a gentle hand through her ponytail.

After several minutes, Amy took a deep breath, pulling away.

"Thanks, T."

"Anytime, babe, ride or die."

"Ride or die," Amy repeated.

She spent several minutes rooting through the back of the closet, before finally pulling out a black dress, tossing it onto the bed.

"When do we need to leave?" Amy asked.

Toni, by far the most organized of the Serpents, checked the time on her phone.

"In about an hour," she decided.

"Thanks," Amy said, leaving the dress on the bed and picking up her makeup bag and hairbrush instead, going to the bathroom.

Toni took the time to get changed herself, into ripped shorts and a mesh top, and joined the others in the main room of the trailer.

"Fuck Keller," she said, "and fuck Hiram Lodge. They're both fucking assholes and need to back the fuck off."

"At least Keller thinks that he's doing what's right," FP pointed out, "even if he's wrong."

"Yeah, but he needs to learn to control his deputies," Fangs argued.

Jughead nodded in agreement, "fuck them both."

"Who are we fucking?" Amy asked, emerging with her makeup touched up and ponytail redone.

"No one fun," Sweet Pea teased. "You look gorgeous, Doll."

Amy smiled softly, perching herself on his lap to hug him.

"Thanks, Sweets."

"You're not going to finish getting ready?" FP asked, surprised.

"I just have to pull on a dress," she shrugged, "I can wait. So, who were we fucking?" she repeated.

"Sheriff Keller and Hiram Lodge," Fangs told her.

"Ew, them… yeah, fuck them both indeed."

"What, did you think I was wrong?" Jughead asked.

"I mean, I do question your taste," Amy agreed easily, voice sharp.

"Okay, claws in kiddo," FP warned.

"Fine," Amy sighed dramatically.

"Actually, speaking of Betty… earlier today at the Blue and Gold she asked me if anything happened between us—well, specifically you two," Jughead corrected himself, looking at the girls, "while we were broken up."

"What did you say?" Toni asked, knowing better than to assume.

"I told her that you stayed over after the Gauntlet and patched me up, and that Amy gave me the tattoo. I didn't exactly specify anything after that, or after our other breakup."

"If she asks, we'll back you up," Fangs promised, and Jughead smiled appreciatively.

They passed the next half an hour talking about lighter subjects, before Amy declared that she needed to finish getting ready. She stood from Sweet Pea's lap, heading into the bedroom. The dress that she pulled on was solid black, tight and short, with lace up panels on the sides. She pulled black bike shorts on underneath, buckling up her boots. She pulled on her Serpents jacket—the ban was only at school—and tightened her ponytail.

The boys had decided not to change so once she was ready, they grabbed their jackets, said their goodbyes to FP, and climbed into the Jeep, taking off to the Five Seasons, where Veronica had apparently booked a room for the party.

Veronica had texted them the room number, so Amy knocked on the door, waiting for it to open.

"Guys! Come on in! Kevin's the only one who's arrived so far," she told them, ushering them into the living room of the suite.

Amy shoved Fangs and Sweet Pea towards the couch that Kevin was sitting on. Once both boys had sat down, Amy sat on Sweet Pea's lap, tossing her legs over both Fangs and Kevin. Toni sat on the floor, leaning back against Fangs' legs, and Jughead settled into the armchair next to them.

It was only a few minutes before the rest of the Northsiders arrived. First Reggie, then Josie and Cheryl, then Archie and Betty. Amy tensed more with each arrival, but relaxed slightly when Sweet Pea wrapped his arms around her and Kevin's hand settled on her calf.

"So, what exactly do Northside parties entail?" Toni asked.

"If anyone says jj I will fucking stab them," Amy whispered to Sweet Pea.

"Well I was thinking Never Have I Ever. I got a bottle of my dad's top shelf tequila," Veronica said.

"I'm in," Amy agreed immediately, eyeing the bottle.

"Ames," Archie warned, but the girl ignored him.

"I don't drink," Jughead told them firmly.

"Play with water, Juggie," Amy told him, "or I can take your shots for you."

"Like you won't be drinking enough on your own," he teased.

"Top shelf tequila, Jug," she reminded him.

"So is that a yes?" Veronica asked.

Amy looked at her Serpents and then back to the hostess. "We're in. Juggie will drink water and I'll take his shots, but we're in."

Archie looked at the Northsiders, "we're in too," he agreed.

Veronica clapped, "Great. I'll grab the shot glasses I brought and we can get started."

A couple of minutes later they each had a shot glass—Amy had two, one for her and one for Jughead—and glasses of water, and Veronica started.

"Never have I ever broken a bone," she said.

Amy took both of her shots, while her partners each took theirs, as did Archie, Reggie, and Cheryl. Technically she was supposed to wait until Jughead drank his water to take his shot, but she knew that he had broken his nose before so she saw no reason to wait.

"Really?" Amy asked, "Bombshell?"

"One of my old Vixens messed up a pyramid," Cheryl explained, rolling her eyes.

"Who's next?" Betty asked.

"I guess we can just go with whoever has one? But you can't say another until everyone has gone," Veronica decided.

"Never have I ever failed a test," Amy declared.

"I don't buy that," Reggie snorted.

"Doesn't matter what you think, Mantle, it's the truth."

Reggie scoffed and took a shot, as did Veronica and Sweet Pea.

"Fucking Phillips," Sweet Pea muttered, quiet enough that only Amy could hear him.

She twisted on his lap to press a quick kiss to his cheek, before leaning her head on his chest.

"Never have I ever been arrested," Kevin said.

"Does it count if I was innocent?" Amy asked, and he nodded.

She immediately downed another two shots, once again not bothering to wait to see Jughead drink, rubbing a hand over her ribs absentmindedly while her partners each took a shot as well.

"My turn," Josie told them. "Never have I ever lied to my parents about a grade."

Archie and Betty both drank, and Amy took a shot after seeing Jughead drink his water, but didn't have her own shot.

"Really?" Betty asked skeptically.

"Well you know what they say," Amy shrugged, sipping at her glass of water, "can't lie to your parents if you don't have any."

"Right," Reggie drawled, "well. Never have I ever slept with an older woman."

"Only woman?" Amy clarified, and Reggie nodded.

She took a shot quickly, thinking of several of the older female Serpents, glowering as she watched Archie and Fangs both take hasty shots.

"Shoulda killed them when I had the chance," she said simply, grabbing Fangs' hand in her own.

Betty smirked at Toni and Amy, "Never have I ever pole danced," she said.

If she weren't dating Jughead, or if they weren't in a room full of her Northside friends, Amy would have punched the smug superiority off of her face.

Instead she took yet another shot, as did Toni and Fangs.

"Never have I ever gone commando," Toni said quickly, seeing that Amy was gearing up for a fight.

"God, Amy, what haven't you done?" Kevin asked, when she took another shot—along with Fangs and Cheryl.

"Never lied to my parents or failed a test," she reminded him, somehow seeming perfectly put together despite her eight shots.

"We should talk, Ames," Archie started, but backtracked quickly when she just glared at him. "Never have I ever had sex in a car," he said instead.

The four partners drank, of course, as did Reggie.

"Never have I ever been walked in on," Fangs bragged, and Amy and Reggie both drank.

"Fuck you, Fogarty," Amy teased, "it's not my fault FP refuses to put a lock on that door. God, after how many times he—and practically everyone else—has walked in, you'd think he'd have learned."

"Or you could stop having sex in public," Jughead argued, "I'm sure that's my dad's preference."

"Yeah well, he can suck my dick," Amy announced. "Getting back to Sunnyside takes too long sometimes. Anyways, who's up?"

"Never have I ever had an amorous encounter with more than a single person," Cheryl said, and Amy rolled her eyes at the ridiculous phrasing.

"Sorry what?" Reggie asked.

"Never have I ever had a threesome," Cheryl clarified.

"Only three?" Amy asked, eyeing her partners.

"Or more," Cheryl amended.

Jughead blushed as he drank his water, Toni and Fangs took their shots with no expression whatsoever, and Amy and Sweet Pea smirked before taking their own—and Jughead's in Amy's case.

"Wait, the five of you?" Kevin asked, incredulous.

"I've told you before, Kev, a lady doesn't kiss and tell."

"And I've told you before, Amy, you're not a lady."

"Bite me," Amy told him with a bright smile, more than a little tipsy.

Jughead saw Betty open her mouth, clearly about to ask for clarification, so he spoke quickly.

"Never have I ever been to a club."

"Come on, FP Three, live a little," Amy told him, taking another shot.

Reggie, Kevin, Josie, Veronica, and the other Serpents followed suit, all significantly more sober than Amy; the disadvantage of being the smallest and wildest person in the room.

"Never have I ever… taken a pregnancy test," Sweet Pea said.

"That feels like a cop out," Betty argued.

"Face it, Northside, there's not a lot we haven't done," Amy told her, drinking again.

"Wait, doll—"

"I'll tell you later, Sweets," Amy promised. "Now I think we've all gone so back to the beginning?"

"Might as well," Veronica agreed. "Never have I ever hit on my drug dealer."

"Does it have to have gone anywhere?" Amy asked immediately.

"No, just hit on."

Amy took a shot, leaning back on the Sweet Pea and rolling her eyes, "'ask me again when you're twenty one, princess,'" she scoffed, "what kind of bullshit is that?"

"What are you talking about?" Reggie asked, staring at her incredulously.

"Fucking Malachai. I mean yeah I get that he's weirded out because of the age thing but like, I'm hot, he's hot, it'd be fun, what's his problem?"

"Malachai?" Reggie asked, "like the Southside drug lord?"

"He's a king," Amy corrected.

"You've tried to fuck _Malachai_?"

"I mean yeah, so what?"

"So he's apparently a psycho, total loose cannon."

"Mal's… I mean you're absolutely right but he'd never hurt me."

"So, anyways," Toni interrupted, "never have I ever drank an entire bottle of alcohol by myself."

"I came out here to have a good time," Amy said.

She, Fangs, and Reggie each took a shot, and Jughead quickly passed Amy another glass of water. He'd never seen Amy actually drunk before, despite how often he'd seen her drinking, and knew that she would hate to lose her self-awareness around the Northsiders.

"If that's how you want to play it," Amy smirked, "never have I ever reused leftover ramen water to make more ramen."

"One fucking time," Toni announced, taking a shot, "it happened one fucking time."

"One time too many, T," Amy told her.

"Anyways," Kevin interrupted, "never have I ever done a keg stand."

"Keg stand king," Reggie bragged, as he and Archie took a shot each.

"Keg stand queen," Amy retorted, taking a shot along with Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs.

Reggie scoffed, "Bet I could beat you."

"You want to fucking bet, Mantle? Let's go," Amy challenged, starting to stand.

"Let's not," Sweet Pea laughed, pulling her back down onto his lap.

"Never have I ever," Betty started, "stripped in front of grown men."

"You're welcome for that," Amy snapped, taking a shot, along with Toni. "But you were going to, so maybe you should get off your high fucking horse before someone throws you off."

"It's not my fault that you're two sluts, two violent thugs, and a whore."

"Which one is Jughead?" Amy asked, jaw tense.

"He's not one of you."

"I mean first of all that's not true, second of all, does that make me the whore or a slut?"

"You and Topaz are sluts, Sweet Pea is a violent bully—"

"He's our enforcer, dumbass," Amy interrupted.

"Fangs is a lowlife hood," Amy growled in the back of her throat, "And Joaquin is a drug mule. He was using Kevin for god's sake, he's just a Serpent whore."

"He's our fucking heartbreaker, Northside, it's his job, not personal. But he was—is—actually in love with him, you goddamn bitch. Besides, no one knows how good of a fuck he is better than I do, and I don't think Kev has anything to complain about on that front. I made sure of it, in fact."

"Amy, please," Jughead sighed, "you're drunk."

"Bet she learned it from FP," Betty muttered. It would have been too low for any of them to hear, but Amy had turned up the volume on her hearing aids before the party.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about my king like that again, Northside, not if you want to keep breathing. But hey," she looked at Jughead, "I finally get why you haven't fucked her, horrible personality aside. You wouldn't fit next to the stick in her ass, and her cunt is in her personality," she scoffed, "like mother like daughter, I guess."

"Amy, what—"

"You said that I'm drunk and she said, and I quote 'bet she learned it from FP.'"

"Wait, really?" Jughead asked, looking between the two girls. Amy's face remained cold, and Betty refused to meet his eyes. "You know what, let's go," he decided, standing up immediately.

The other four Serpents joined him, walking out of the room without so much as a goodbye. Jughead, being the only sober one, drove them to his trailer. It was empty when they arrived, clearly FP was at the Wyrm, and they didn't bother to do anything more than kick off their shoes and hang up their jackets before piling onto the bed and falling asleep. Amy woke up early, more hungover than she'd been in years, and quickly stumbled into the bathroom. The cold water from the shower helped to wake her up, but she still felt like crap, and was less than pleased when FP texted them all to meet him at the Wyrm as soon as possible. She didn't bother to change her clothes, only reapplying her makeup and fixing her ponytail, and soon the five teenagers were making their way into the bar.

"So, Betty texted me this morning," Jughead told them, "Wanted to know if it was true that we'd… you know…"

"How's it any business of hers? You weren't together."

"I—" Jughead was interrupted by FP as soon as the door opened.

"We're all being evicted," he told them. "None of us are going anywhere, I swear it, but they're using the damn statue as an excuse to turn up the heat. But I have to ask," he said raising his voice, "did anyone do it?"

"Why don't you ask your son and his bitch," Tall Boy called.

"Which one of us is the bitch," Amy mused loudly, "Fuck off, Turncoat, we're included in 'anyone' and no, we didn't do shit."

"Good," FP interrupted, "We'll reconvene at five to figure out a game plan." He turned to the five teenagers, lowering his voice, "go back to the trailer, sober up, and bring those brilliant brains tonight."

"We'll get this sorted," Amy promised, offering him a cheeky salute before they left, climbing onto their bikes and heading to the trailer.

Once they got back, Jughead looked at all of them. "I have no idea how to deal with hangovers," he admitted.

"Tylenol, greasy food, and Gatorade," Amy recited, "I'm not much for Prairie Oysters so we can just… not even try that. Hair of the dog works too but I don't think that's what your dad meant."

"Hair of the dog?"

"Drinking more," Toni explained, "Amy's cure of choice."

"We literally work at a bar, Toni, it's the most affordable option."

"Right, well, it's not happening. We need to be on top of our game tonight, and you and Jug have the confirmation afterwards."

"Fuck," Amy spat, "gotta find out when I'm supposed to go over to get dressed up. Which, Juggy, you're coming with me. I don't want to be alone with Hiram Lodge."

"Understandable. In the meantime—" Jughead asked, not sure what would cause her the least stress.

"Grab your laptop, I feel like trash talking Glee."

"Glee?" he asked, incredulous.

"When Amy feels like crap, she likes to watch Glee and talk shit because it makes her feel better to realize that her life will never be as 'terrible and fucked up as that shitshow,' or something along those lines," Sweet Pea explained.

"Oh—kay then, be right back."

He made his way into the bedroom, emerging soon with his laptop, which he set up on the coffee table. The five piled together on the couch to watch it, and Amy jumped right into the criticism, starting with the opening cheerleading practice.

Jughead got into it quickly, matching Amy's insults with ease. They were all relaxed, happy, even, until Terri Schuester announced that she was pregnant.

Sweet Pea pulled back slightly, and Amy tensed just as fast.

"Doll, that reminds me—"

"Fuck. Last night… that happened, didn't it?"

"That you said you'd taken a pregnancy test? Yeah, it did. And you promised you'd explain. We always use protection, Doll, and I know that you do that with everyone. How—Why—"

"What can I say, I'm the next Virgin Mary," Amy tried to joke, but it fell flat. "The… god, fuck. I was raped, Sweets, at the Sisters. That's… I don't know, they say it's part of conversion therapy, I say it's because people will pay big money for a living fleshlight. I don't know who, I was… I was drugged out of my mind, but I know that protection wasn't exactly a concern. Babies mean orphans mean money, I guess. I got back and realized that I hadn't had my period in a while, took a test, it was negative. I guess it was a stress thing, who'd have guessed."

"Wait," Jughead said, while Toni and Fangs watched in silent horror, "at the Sisters? Like, of Quiet Mercy?"

"No, genius, the other creepy nun cult. Yes, the Sisters of Quiet Mercy."

"Betty's sister was there, do you think she was—"

"Polly Cooper? No, she was okay. The pregnant girls get much better treatment. No drugs, no fucking electricity, no rape… Almost made me regret always using protection."

"Doll—"

"Please, can we… can we table this for a day when I'm not terrified of losing our homes and of dealing with Hiram Lodge?"

All four of the other Serpents nodded, albeit reluctantly, and no one tried to stop Amy from rewinding to the start of Don't Stop Believing.

They spent the next few hours like that, with a couple of breaks for Amy to make popcorn, and by the time they needed to head to the trailer, everyone's hangovers were more or less gone.

Amy took her time getting ready. She wore the same outfit she had worn the previous night—it worked for the Serpents and it would work for heading directly to the Pembrooke—and tossed her small handgun into her usual holster bag.

She and Jughead climbed onto the back of Sweet Pea and Toni's respective bikes, as neither wanted to bring theirs to a Lodge party, and soon they were driving to the Wyrm.

They walked in the door, and Amy froze immediately, seeing who was sitting front and centre.

"Hi Eddie, did you miss me?" Penny drawled, and Fangs turned on his heel.

He left the bar immediately, with Toni right behind him, and Amy pulled out her gun in a smooth move.

"Don't you fucking talk to him, bitch," Amy spat.

"What are you doing here, Penny?" Jughead asked.

"That's none of your business," Tall Boy said, "not since you broke Serpent Law and hurt one of our own. Which Penny was about to show your dad."

Penny smirked, rolling up her sleeve to show the jagged scar.

"Shut the fuck up, traitors. Jones didn't do that, I did. And if you want to side with her, Tall Boy? I'll do the same to you."

"Adams—" FP started.

"Don't. Either you kick her out, or I deal with her myself. But if I do, it'll involve a couple of body bags."

FP sighed. "Penny, get out. You're not welcome here, never will be again. If you ever show your traitorous face again, I'll let Adams handle you herself."

"Of course," Tall Boy scoffed, "she's fucking the king's son."

"I've fucked half the people here, Tall Boy, that's not why they like me better. Besides, Peabody broke the law first, and FP knows it. Now get the fuck out, both of you, or I'll show you exactly what I think about traitors."

"Psycho bitch," Tall Boy muttered, but he and Penny did leave.

Fangs returned a few minutes later, along with Toni, and the latter immediately poured him a drink.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked, joining them by the bar.

"I will be. Toni and Sweets are here, they've got this. You two, however, need to get to the Northside."

Amy nodded tersely, making her way outside. She didn't want to leave her bike at the Pembrooke, but she knew that if they drove to Fred's, he'd give them a lift, so that's exactly what they did—after Jughead ducked into the back room to change into a plain black suit.

Veronica met them in the lobby, looking surprised. "Jughead. I didn't expect you so early."

"I kidnapped him," Amy said dryly, "and he's going to tell me if I look ridiculous."

"I know nothing about fashion," he reminded her.

"Maybe not, but you know about brutal honesty."

Veronica clapped, "let's table this debate for after you're dressed. I've got the perfect thing."

"You always do," Amy admitted.

The trio made their way to Veronica's room, where she quickly passed Amy a green dress. She seemed surprised that Amy didn't make him leave, and that she pulled the dress on over her holster, but said nothing.

After a few moments, Amy stood in front of them in a dark green dress. It was a v-neck, although the sleeves were off the shoulder, with a small ribbon around her waist and a knee length skirt.

"A bit conservative for my taste, but I can work with it," she said.

"Wait."

"Jughead?" Amy asked.

The boy walked towards her, gently pulling her hair out of its usual ponytail to let it fan around her.

"There. Perfect."

Amy fought the blush that she knew would be rising in her cheeks.

"Lodge seal of approval?" she asked, twirling around for Veronica to observe.

"Absolutely."

"So… when do we have to go?"

"We should be heading out pretty soon, I just need to get dressed first."

"We can wait—where do you want us to wait?"

"My room is fine, I'll change in the closet."

Amy nodded, sitting on the bed, while Jughead fidgeted uncomfortably. Thankfully, Veronica was ready soon and told them that her parents had gone with her family, so it would just be the three of them in the limo.

Once they arrived, Amy and Jughead split off, and found themselves sharing a pew with Archie, Betty, and Kevin. The ceremony was incredibly boring, if one were to ask Amy, but she smiled politely throughout. Once the reception started, she grabbed a clearly distressed Jughead and pulled him to an empty stairwell.

"It's just us, Juggy, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Sunnyside… I've been homeless before, I don't know if I can do it again."

Amy pulled him close, taking his head in her hands to force him to look at her.

"Hey, no one is going anywhere, okay? I promise you, we'll sort this out somehow."

They stayed like that, taking comfort in each other, until footsteps echoing through the stairwell broke them apart.

"Your Southside boys aren't enough?" Betty demanded, "You've got to steal my boyfriend now too?"

"It's not stealing if it's his choice. Oh and, I heard about your whole, accusing him of sleeping with me thing. Was that before or after you told him about kissing Archie?"

Betty froze, looking like a deer in the headlights, "you know about that?"

"Archie is my brother," Amy reminded her, "we tell each other things. But yeah, I didn't think so. So why don't you let me comfort my _friend_ about the fact that we might be about to lose our home. Hm? I'm sure someone in the reception can tolerate your existence, go bother them.

Betty sputtered, but eventually turned on her heel and left them alone.

"Sorry, Juggy, that was… not how you should have found out about that."

"When was—"

"The night after we fucked," Amy told him, "when they were chasing the Black Hood."

"I… need to talk to her. Will you be alright?"

"I'm a big strong girl," she teased, "I can handle myself."

He smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead before venturing into the crowd. Amy skirted the edges, making her way towards Kevin, but was stopped by Archie's arrival.

"Ames? Can we talk?"

"Can we?" She asked, voice cold.

"Look, I'm not saying that we're going to agree on everything about the Lodges or anything, but I shouldn't have called you paranoid or said that you were overreacting, okay? I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Amy said, "I know how important his approval is to you, and I should have tried to be supportive of that."

"So, we're good?"

"We're good, Red. Even when I'm pissed, we're always good."

"Good. So, want to join me in trying to recognize a single thing on the food table?"

Amy giggled and nodded, letting him lead her to the table. They played the game, one that they'd invented as children, for a while, until Jughead was grabbing Amy and letting her know that he would be leaving with Betty, asking her if she could get a ride from someone.

"What do you say, Red? Think your dad would object to picking me up when he thought he'd be doing that anyways?" She asked, trying and failing to hide her annoyance with Betty.

"I'll head out with you," Archie said, "then he only has to come once."

Amy nodded, letting Archie send the text, and the siblings made their way to the door to wait.

Fred arrived shortly, and the two climbed into the truck, with Amy squished between the Andrews'. The drive was silent, for which Amy was grateful, and once they pulled into the driveway it was easy to hug them both goodbye and climb on her bike. She drove straight to the Wyrm, knowing that her partners would be there, and when she finally got to the bar, all she wanted was a drink or a hug.

Thankfully her partners knew her well, and Sweet Pea met her at the door to hug her, leading her back towards the pool table where Toni and Fangs were, with a glass of whiskey waiting for her.

"You sure know how to treat a girl," she drawled.

"FP said you might need it," Toni told her.

"Where is he?" Amy asked, looking around.

"He got a call from Jughead. Said they'd get here soon."

Anything else they might have said was interrupted when Tall Boy, seeming to have only just noticed her, stood up.

"You all heard her earlier. The princess admitted to mauling Penny Peabody, a fellow Serpent. All those in favour of kicking her out—"

"Stand down, Tall Boy," FP said, voice carrying over the entire room as he strolled in with Jughead and Betty—and the statue's head.

While FP pushed Tall Boy into a chair, Amy rounded on Betty.

"You can go now," she told her.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, you can go. This is Serpent business, Northside, you're not welcome or wanted."

Betty gaped at her, looking to Jughead for backup, but he said nothing. With a huff, she stormed out of the bar, and Amy could feel herself relax.

"So, Tall Boy," FP said, "What were you doing at the dump? Why'd you do it?"

"*Cause I'm tired of seeing the Serpents goin' soft under your rule.* You and the fucking princess. *Then Hiram Lodge came by, wanting to stir up some trouble. He said if I took the head, he'd get McCoy and the cops to swarm all over us, cause some chaos.*"

"So Hiram Lodge asked you to betray us and you did? Explain that logic," Amy demanded.

"It'd give me a chance to get rid of you, bitch, and your pet over here," he jerked his head towards Jughead, "and if they were both gone, I could get rid of you, FP."

"And then you'd be king?" Amy laughed.

"He and Penny," Jughead corrected. "You're a Judas, Tall Boy."

"And an idiot," she added.

"You betrayed your own kind, Tall Boy. You broke Serpent Law. What should we do with this lowlife?"

"Take his jacket," Toni called.

"Exile him," Sweet Pea added.

"All those in favour?" FP asked, and everyone raised a hand in the traditional Serpent fangs.

"I'll deal with him," FP told Jughead and Amy, "you kids go back to the trailer and get some rest."

Amy nodded, gesturing for her partners to join them, and they made their way to the Jones'.

Once they'd arrived, and piled onto the couch, Amy looked around.

"So, what do we do about the Hiram Lodge of it all?"

"We don't really have any damning evidence yet," Toni said.

"We can observe," Fangs suggested, "keep a close watch—"

Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by a knock on the door which Jughead opened to reveal Betty.

He looked back at the other four, and Amy laughed mockingly.

"Looks like we're being sexiled. Jones, careful of the log up her ass, we'll be. Somewhere."

She didn't wait for a reply before she left, not bothering to grab her jacket or shoes. Sweet Pea unlocked the Jeep and they piled in, but they'd barely even made it to the Riverbanks when Jughead texted them, asking for them to come back.

 **FP3:** _Betty's gone. Please come home?_

 **Gem:** _we're on our way_

"Really, Toni?" Amy asked, "you couldn't even let him stew for a bit."

"I just want to sleep," Toni told her, getting a shrug of acknowledgement.

They got back to the trailer quickly, finding Jughead sitting alone on the bed.

"Finished already?" Amy asked, "I know I taught you better than that."

"No. We didn't. I… I stopped it. She didn't say it, but I know her. She was doing it because she thought she had to prove something. When we… if we ever do, you know, do stuff, I want it to be because she actually wants to."

"How chivalrous," Amy said, hoping that he couldn't tell how relieved she was. "Now can we all get comfortable and sleep? It's been a long fucking weekend."

Jesus I am so sorry that this took so long! Full disclosure, my laptop was broken and being fixed for almost all of December, and I didn't get it back until a week and a half ago, but now my life is all rehearsals all the time and I haven't had a chance to write until now!

As always, I hope you enjoyed! Feel free/encouraged to leave a comment with your thoughts, or hit me up on tumblr randomestfandoms-ocs to talk about this or any of my other OCs or projects!


	13. My Heart Is A Weapon Of War

_So Jughead didn't sleep with Betty, thank god. But between preparing for war, Archie going off the rails, and a dead body, Amy doesn't even have time to celebrate. She does, however, have the time to throw a dozen wrenches into Hiram Lodge's schemes._

Chapter title is from Fight Like A Girl by Emilie Autumn

WARNINGS: Honestly this chapter was pretty tame! Just Amy's usual crassness and Hiram Lodge being a creep.

 **(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter**

My Heart Is A Weapon Of War

Waking up was an interesting experience, even by Amy's standards. Between Toni and Sweet Pea seething about Tall Boy, Fangs being shaken up by Penny, Jughead dwelling on Betty, and Amy trying to figure out how to outwit Hiram Lodge, it really didn't feel like they'd actually slept at all—and to be fair, they barely had.

"Come on, assholes," Amy said finally, seeing the time, "gotta get ready for school."

Jughead groaned, stretching his arms as much as he could with Toni and Amy on either side of him.

"Do we have to?" he asked through a yawn.

"Tragically, yes," Amy told him, crawling over Sweet Pea to get out of bed. "I've got schemes to plan, and you have a girlfriend to either break up with or apologize to."

"You're right," Jughead nodded decisively. "I've got to make things right with Betty."

Amy tried to ignore the way her heart clenched at his words and plastered on her usual fake smile.

"And I've got a criminal mastermind to destroy," she said, instead of the number of things she wanted to say. "Up and at em."

Fangs grumbled but her partners all complied, and soon the five of them were on their bikes and heading to school.

Amy perched herself on Sweet Pea's lap, carefully ignoring Jughead talking to the Northsiders. Of course, despite her best efforts she couldn't actually tune them out, and she rolled her eyes as Veronica tried to organize a 'negotiation'.

"Jug," she said abruptly, standing up and grabbing her bag. "I've gotta dash but text me the time and I'll be there."

"Um," Veronica said, "this is between the Lodges and the Jones'."

Amy scoffed loudly, quirking an eyebrow. She took a moment to enjoy the way Veronica wilted under her stare before she spoke. "No," she drawled, "this is between Hiram Lodge and the Serpents. And quite frankly, your dad is an idiot and I don't actually care what he thinks. Jughead," she repeated, smiling softly when he looked up at her. "Text me the time and I'll be there."

He nodded, letting her press her hand to his cheek before leaving the lounge, Sweet Pea falling into his usual place at her side.

As soon as Amy was out of earshot, Betty looked over at Jughead. "Is… is she why you stopped things last night?" she whispered.

"No, Betts. God, I just felt like you were trying to prove something- to me, to yourself, I don't know- and if or when we do anything, I want it to be because you want to do it not because you feel like you have to."

Meanwhile, as Betty processed his explanation, Amy dug out her phone and called Fred.

"Sweetheart?" he greeted, picking up on the first ring. "What's wrong?"

Amy sighed loudly. "Hey. I… I don't know. I'm worried about Archie and, I don't know what to do."

Her voice caught in her throat, and she knew that Fred heard is as his voice softened.

"It's okay," he told her, "it'll be okay. You'll figure something out, or I'll talk some sense into him, or he'll realize that he's hurting you. Archie loves you a hell of a lot more than he loves Veronica. You're his sister, sweetheart, in every way that matters, and he's going to realize that impressing Hiram Lodge isn't worth losing you."

Amy nodded, and then remembered that he couldn't see her. "Yeah, I… I guess," she said, although she was sure that he was wrong—she was a second choice, she was always a second choice, and she would be Archie's second choice too.

But she wouldn't argue with Fred, she would never argue with Fred, so instead she sighed. "Yeah," she repeated. "Thanks."

"Anytime, sweetheart. I love you."

Even after all her years living with Fred, after all her years of hearing him say that multiple times a day, Amy's breath still hitched every time.

"Love you too," she said, before hanging up the phone and heading to class.

She took her seat beside Toni with only moments to spare before the final bell, and felt the other girl take her hand, squeezing it gently. _Are you okay?_ she knew it meant.

She squeezed back. _I will be_ , it promised.

She pulled her hand away after a few seconds, picking up her pencil and jotting down her notes—both for the class and in preparation for the upcoming negotiation with Hiram Lodge.

Her day passed in relative boredom. She rolled her eyes endlessly at Veronica and Archie, avoided Archie's attempts to talk to her about the impending negotiations, and tried to pretend that her chest didn't tighten every time she saw Jughead and Betty together. Though, judging by the worried looks that she was getting from the other four Serpents, she might not have succeeded.

Still, she was beyond grateful to hear the final bell, grabbing her bag and heading to the locker room to get changed for River Vixens practice. She saw Sweet Pea taking his usual seat in the back of the bleachers and smiled up at him before turning her attention to Cheryl and the new choreography. She was more than a little shocked to find out that she would be one of the main features but couldn't help but smirk at the fact that she was getting Betty's spot.

She was a better dancer, and a better cheerleader, but she hadn't expected Cheryl to ever choose a Southsider over one of her own. Still, she resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at the blonde brat and instead she threw herself into learning the routine.

The hour passed quickly as Amy lost herself in the music, in the comfortable familiarity of dancing and flipping her way around a gym.

When she finished, she wasted no time in joining Sweet Pea, smiling up at him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"You don't have to wait for me, you know," she told him.

"You're my girl, Doll, of course I'm going to wait. I don't want any Northside asshole trying to jump you or something—"

"I can take care of myself, Sweets," she objected.

"Of course you can," he agreed easily, "but you shouldn't have to. Besides, I like watching you in that uniform."

Amy tilted her head, conceding, pressing a quick kiss to his jaw before ducking into the locker room to change. As soon as she was dressed, she rejoined him and let him lead her outside to their bikes.

"Any word from Jones?" he asked.

"He was able to delay everything until the end of practice, Veronica was a good excuse for that, but he wants me to head over asap," she reported, checking her phone.

Sweet Pea nodded and the two got on their bikes, making their way to the other side of town. They stopped outside of the Jones trailer, and Amy took a minute to fix her outfit.

She unbuttoned her dark green flannel, letting it fall open under her jacket and leaving her black bandeau entirely visible with her snake tooth necklace falling perfectly in the centre of her chest. She took off her helmet, hanging it off of her bike's handlebar, and put her hearing aids back on, tightening her ponytail and touching up her blood red lipstick.

"How do I look?" She asked Sweet Pea.

"Ready for war," he assured her, dropping a soft kiss to her forehead—he would have kissed her properly, but he knew that she would be pissed if he ruined her lipstick.

"Good."

She took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders before climbing up the stairs and letting herself into the trailer. Sweet Pea watched the door close behind her and then got back on his bike, taking off towards the Wyrm.

Amy was glad to see that she'd beaten the Lodges to the trailer, hugging both Jones men in greeting.

"You kids ready?" FP asked. "Hiram Lodge doesn't mess around."

"We're ready," Amy promised. She crossed the trailer quickly, leaning against the kitchen counter and folding her arms.

Only moments later she saw Jughead's stiffen, and knew that he must have heard a car pulling in. While both of the Joneses were posturing, straightening their spines and pushing back their shoulders, Amy let her slouch exaggerate. It was just like she had told Jughead, back when they were getting ready to deal with Penny, it was all about impressions. They wanted to look tough, to remind Hiram that they weren't people to fuck with, but Amy wanted to look like she didn't care, like he was so far beneath her notice that she didn't feel the need to impress him.

A moment later there was a knock on the door, and Amy watched as FP let them in. Her eyes narrowed at the way both Hiram and Veronica eyed the trailer with barely-concealed disgust before Hiram noticed her.

"I thought that this was a private meeting," he said, lip curling as he looked her up and down.

"She asked to be here, I said yes," FP told him, crossing the trailer in such a way that he blocked Hiram's view of the girl without it seeming forced. "You brought Veronica, after all."

"Veronica is my daughter," Hiram countered, and Amy caught Jughead's eye, smirking at his clear attempt not to laugh.

"And Amethyst is my heir," FP said. "This isn't between your family and mine—although she is family as well—this is between you and the Serpents, and Amy has more right than either Veronica or Jughead to be present for Serpent negotiations."

Amy fought off the grin that threatened to take over her face when FP called her family. She had to focus, had to keep the ball in her court.

"So," she drawled, using a high heeled combat boot to push herself off of her perch, "are you going to pull them out and measure them or are we going to negotiate?"

This time Jughead couldn't hold back a snort, nor could FP hide his fond smile at her usual audacity.

"How… crass," Hiram said, and Amy simply smiled at him. "But yes, let's sit down and discuss this misunderstanding."

She watched as the other four sat down, and moved to stand on FP's right, leaning against his chair but not dropping the steel from her spine.

"There's no misunderstanding," she informed him coolly.

FP nodded. "Tall Boy said you paid him to decapitate the Pickens statue. As an excuse to turn up the heat on the Serpents. You got a lot of nervous people scared they're gonna lose their home," he said.

"I heard about that," Hiram hummed. "And though it has nothing to do with me—" Amy scoffed loudly, but Hiram continued as if she weren't there. "I've spoken to Mayor McCoy. And as a gesture of goodwill to the Southside community, I'd like to settle any back rent you or your neighbours owe the town."

"And what do you want in return?" Jughead asked, and Amy felt a rush of fondness at how easily the boy had come into his own as the Serpent Prince.

"Peace in the land."

The three Serpents waited a moment, Amy enjoying the way that Veronica started to fidget in her seat, before FP stood.

"It's a deal," FP said, holding out his hand as the other three stood up.

Hiram clasped his hand. "There is one thing," he added, and Amy clicked her tongue loudly. "Mayor McCoy tells me that you have some kind of… exposé you're working on, Jughead."

Jughead's eyes met Amy's, and from the quirk of his eyebrow she could tell that they both knew exactly what was coming, and that neither of them were going to agree.

"So in exchange for my generous offer," he continued, "I'd appreciate it if you just kept my name out of it. Sound fair?"

Jughead scoffed, sounding eerily similar to Amy herself. "That sounds a lot like a bribe," he said.

"Sounds like you've got something to hide," Amy added.

"No deal," Jughead continued.

"See you in the funny pages," FP said, tossing an arm around his son's shoulders and gesturing to the door.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Amy sank into the couch.

"What a condescending asshole," she sighed.

"He's always been like that," FP told her. "But you both handled that really well. You make a good team."

"Fuck yeah we do," she agreed, holding out a fist to bump against Jughead's. "Little Princeling here is growing into a full blown prince."

"Thanks," he said dryly.

"Anytime," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm going to have a nap."

She let FP ruffle her hair before heading into the bedroom, curling up in the comfortable bed, surrounded by warm blankets and Jughead's familiar scent.

When Amy woke up, it was to the sound of a phone ringing. She blinked quickly, trying to wake herself up, and padded out into the living room.

"We have to go, dad," she heard Jughead saying. "They need our help and I don't know what to do."

"Don't know what to do about what?" Amy asked, and both of the men jolted in surprise.

"Um…"

"The Coopers need help with a body," FP told her.

"I mean, you should definitely just call the cops on Alice," Amy shrugged, turning to Jughead. "But I guess you're so far up Betty's ass that that's not an option so, let's go."

Jughead opened his mouth, but FP cut him off.

"Let's go," he agreed, and the three all put on their jackets before piling into the truck.

They made it to the Cooper house pretty quickly, and Amy narrowed her eyes when Alice opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked.

"I'm here to deal with a body that you're both too idiotic to take care of yourselves."

"How did you even know?" Betty demanded.

"I practically live at the trailer, Northside. Jughead told FP, didn't realize that I was in the bathroom." It was easy to lie, and she saw the tension leave Jughead's shoulders when she did. "But we're not here to talk about my bladder. Come on, FP."

She helped FP with the body, watching out of the corner of her eye as Jughead and the Coopers got to work cleaning. It was somehow comforting to get back into the truck, dead body and all, and leave the house in the rear-view mirror as FP drove the two of them out into the forest.

From that point, it was a mindless task to actually deal with the corpse—she hadn't been lying those few months ago when she told Archie that she could deal with a dead body—and they were soon getting back into the car.

"Jughead texted me," FP told her—his voice was hesitant, like he was talking to a wild animal, and Amy knew that she wouldn't like whatever she was about to hear. "We're going to Pop's with Alice and Betty. Do you want to come?"

"Thanks, but I don't feel like having to deal with another body tonight and I don't think I can go more than ten minutes around either of them without snapping," Amy shrugged, trying to keep the hurt from her voice. "I think I'm just going to get Sweets to pick me up."

FP nodded, and Amy did just that. By the time they got back into town and were pulling into the driveway, Amy could see Sweet Pea waiting at the end of the road. She waved goodbye to FP and Jughead before joining him, settling onto the back of his bike and watching with a heavy heart as the Coopers and the Joneses drove off together.

Holy shit I am so sorry about how long it's been! I can give you a bunch of excuses about how I've been working on other projects, dealing with transferring schools, and getting back to work, and while that's all true, the main reason I've been gone for so long is that I've been finding the OC community very toxic in the past few months. I've been getting a whole lot of anon hate on tumblr and dealing with a lot of bullshit in various servers and basically I just lost any motivation to write for any of my Riverdale OCs—also Riverdale is just a shit show and I've officially stopped watching, and ever since Luke Perry died it's been very hard for me to write Amy and Fred scenes. And while I can't promise that I won't disappear again, I'm definitely back in an Amy mood so hopefully I'll be at least a bit more consistent from now on!

As always, you're more than welcome to come and talk to me on tumblr randomestfandoms-ocs and/or check out my Amy tag (Amethyst Adams or /tagged/amethyst-adams) because while I haven't been writing much, I have been making a lot of other content for her lately!


	14. I Have Such A Heart Too

_With the sword of Damocles hanging over everyone, the town with pep is worse off than anyone seems to realize. And with Jughead going away for a couples' weekend, and Hiram Lodge breathing down her neck, Amy is worse off than she's able to handle. But as her carefully balanced juggling starts to crumble around her, at least she still has her giraffe, her dog, and her memories of when Archie's priorities were in order._

Chapter title is from The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemmingway

Warnings: references to underage sex, references to the Sisters Of Quiet Mercy, canon-typical violence

Notes at the end

 **(Cast Not Your Stone At The) Wayward Daughter**

I Have Such A Heart Too

In Riverdale High, the world kept spinning. Everything was the same in the Town With Pep, even with the Sword Of Damocles hanging over their heads. In fact, only two people seemed to be aware of how precarious their situation was, try as they might to convince the rest of the town. First, the dark haired boy, beanie shoved low on his head as he tried to convince his father of the risk they faced, then the dark haired girl, eyes like ice as she tried to convince her partners. Had they worked together they may have succeeded, but Amy had been ignoring Jughead since she left him at the Cooper house the night before. She had woken up earlier than usual – though that would suggest that she had been able to sleep in the first place – careful not to wake him as she climbed out of bed, dragging her partners to school so that they could sit in the back of Sweet Pea's jeep until classes began.

Unfortunately, Jughead would have been the only one of her fellow Serpents to take her concerns seriously, and for once Amy found herself looking forward to school if only to get away from their dismissals. She was well aware that she erred on the side of paranoia, that she saw threats around every corner; she was also aware that her gut instinct had never been wrong and that she wasn't wrong this time either.

"Just, try not to worry about it babe," Toni told her. "You and Jughead… you don't like being helpless so you're looking for a conspiracy where there isn't one. Can we just forget about it for a night? You've been going on about _Love, Simon_ coming out, we could go see that?"

Amy's jaw tightened, knowing that Toni was only suggesting that to shut her up, and that none of her partners had ever been interested when she'd brought it up before, but she nodded all the same. "Sure, fine." She shrugged, grabbing her backpack and climbing out of the trunk. She straightened her flannel – a green and black piece she'd stolen from Fangs years before – and pulled up the waistband of her ripped jeans, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and setting off towards the door.

Considering how much longer his legs were than hers, it was no surprise that Sweet Pea caught up with her before she made it inside, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

"Come on, Doll," he said softly. "You know Toni didn't mean anything by it. You can be a bit… cautious, you know? She just doesn't want you stressing yourself out over something that isn't a problem."

"Sure, Sweets," Amy said, her voice just as tense as her shoulders, "I get it. You're wrong, but I get it."

Anything Sweet Pea might have had to say was forgotten, as she overheard Kevin talking to Moose a few lockers down.

"—a John Hughesian coming-of-age, coming-out movie," he was saying – inviting Moose to the movies, she would guess.

"Yeah, no, I'm already going," Moose told him. "With Midge. You can come with us, if you want."

Amy watched Kevin's jaw clench, and before she realized what she was doing, she was bouncing down the hallway and grabbing onto his arm, plastering a bright grin on her face.

"Come with us, Kev!" she insisted, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Toni and I are dragging the boys, it'll be great! Besides," she added, "you're the only other person I know who actually _wants_ to see it – Toni and the boys are just humouring me."

Kevin blinked at her, startled by her sudden appearance and the overly enthusiastic smile. He wasn't sure how close he and Amy actually were, could never tell if she actually trusted him or was just a good enough liar that he thought she trusted him, didn't even know if she would consider him a friend. But still, with the clearly fake smile and empty eyes, and the way she gripped his arm like it was the only thing keeping her from bolting, it was clear that there was something more going on that just wanting to see a movie with him, and he would do what he could to be there for her. Even if that meant acting like everything was fine.

"Don't they always?" he asked lightly, earning a more genuine smile from the girl.

"Of course. But, what do you think?"

"That sounds great," he told her honestly, offering her a soft smile.

Amy beamed up at him, wrapping a hand around his elbow and guiding him away from Moose and Sweet Pea, who were both watching them in silent confusion.

"Walk me to class?" she asked, not waiting for an answer as they left.

"So what was that all about?" Kevin asked, once they were out of earshot.

"You can do so much better than being some asshole's gay experiment while he shoves his girlfriend in your face," she shrugged.

"Sure," he scoffed. "Because there are so many gay men to choose from."

"There are," she nodded. "I know tons of openly queer guys who'd treat you like you deserve, they just aren't Northsiders. Like, look at Fangs. Heart of gold and a gold medal dick, and _definitely_ interested."

"Amy Adams," Kevin gasped playfully, "are you trying to set me up with your boyfriend?"

Amy grinned back, feeling the earlier tension leave her shoulders. "Not my boyfriend, but yes absolutely."

"Wait, he's no—"

Kevin's question was interrupted when they ran into Betty and Jughead, leaving the student lounge. Amy saw Archie behind them, turning the other corner with Veronica – that was fine, she couldn't afford to think about the fact that she was losing her brother to the Lodge brat anyways.

She blinked, pulling her eyes away from the redhead and back to the two in front of them, staring for a moment before tightening her grip on Kevin's arm.

"Hi, bye," she said with a fake smile. "Come on, Kev, we have to talk details for tonight."

Kevin's eyebrows knitted together for a moment but, sensing her rising tension, he smiled indulgently and nodded. "See you guys later," he offered.

"Actually," Jughead started, and Amy froze. "I need to talk to Ame – to Amy."

Kevin looked between the two, but didn't move. He wouldn't, not unless Amy was okay with it.

"And I need to talk to Kevin," She told him sharply.

"Please, Amy," he said softly, her nickname feeling weird in his mouth. "Two minutes? You can time it, if you want."

Amy's hand tightened even more around Kevin's arm but as soon as she – accidentally – met Jughead's pleading gaze, it relaxed.

"Fine," she said after a moment. "But only you. Let's go."

She turned on her heel, navigating the crowded halls with ease. She ignored Cheryl's "Watch it, slut," when she bumped into the redhead, not slowing down until she reached the empty music room, perching on the edge of the piano bench. It was only then that she looked up to see that Jughead had indeed followed her, closing the door behind him as he took a seat opposite her. She had known that he would, of course, knew that he wouldn't so much as glance at his girlfriend, knew that even if he had, he wouldn't have cared about her objections. She had known that he would follow her, no matter how Betty felt about it, about her, but she still felt a weight lift from her chest when the door clicked shut, cutting the two of them off from the rest of the school.

"Two minutes," she reminded him, glancing at the clock.

Jughead smiled fondly, eyes softening.

"How generous," he deadpanned. "Thanks."

"You're wasting time, Jones," she retorted, unable to fight back her own small smile.

"Right." He coughed. "So, um, Veronica invited Betty and I to go up to her parents' lodge for the weekend with she and Archie, a romantic getaway or something."

Amy's breath caught in her throat. She knew – she knew that they were back together, again, but she hadn't expected… she hadn't expected them to be going on so-called romantic getaways together, especially when Hiram Lodge was breathing down their necks. Hiram. Lodge. Who was trying to destroy their home. Who wanted Jughead out of town when he made his next move. Whose next move was — she didn't know. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to refocus, needed to find the missing piece of the puzzle. But as her eyes fell shut, she couldn't see the board, couldn't see any next moves or evasive strategies. All she could see was a blonde ponytail, green eyes staring at her in disgust, Jughead's hand falling to rest on the Northsider's waist – the same way he used to hold her. She squeezed her eyes tighter, but she couldn't force the images from the previous night out of her head.

"You're… I take it you and Cooper sorted shit out?" She asked tersely.

Jughead smiled, not noticing the way she folded in on herself as he did.

"Yeah." He said. "We talked. She was upset because she thought that you were the reason I didn't sleep with her the other night."

"And I'm not?" Amy asked, hiding her disappointment under a teasing smirk.

Jughead opened his mouth to – well, she wasn't sure what he would have said, but she was quick to silence him with a sharp look at the clock.

"Time's running out," she reminded him coolly. "And I doubt you dragged me away to talk about fucking the Northsider. I know you know where to put it, so you don't need my help there."

Jughead rolled his eyes, with another soft smile. "Right. So the thing is, this was Hiram's suggestion. Which would be suspicious no matter what, but right after yesterday's meeting?"

"He's up to something," Amy agreed. "So, no getaway?"

"We're still going," he corrected her – and though she knew better than to get her hopes up, his words still hit her like a fist to the gut. "I can try to get answers out of Veronica, and Betty really needs this after last night. I just, I wanted to ask you to keep an eye on the Hiram side of things while I'm away? You know, make sure he isn't using this as a way to get me out of the way while he makes his move?"

"Which it obviously _is_ ," she snapped. "I didn't take you for an idiot, Jones, that is very obviously what he's doing." She didn't realize that she had stood, looking towards the door before spinning back around to glare at him. "Don't worry, I'd be keeping my eye on him even if you hadn't asked, so you can go have a good weekend of fucking your Northsider in peace."

"Amethyst?" He asked softly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, _clearly_. Have a good weekend."

She grabbed her back, twisting the doorknob as fast as she could.

"Amethyst," he tried again.

"Your two minutes are up, Jones."

She didn't give him another chance to ask, didn't turn to see his reaction. She knew that if she did it would break her resolve, so she let the door swing into the wall as she stormed out of the room, disappearing into the crowd.

As per her usual luck, she only made it down a few halls before bumping into the last people she wanted to see – aside from Betty, Jughead, and maybe her partners.

"Amy!" Veronica beamed.

Amy nodded in acknowledgement, though her gaze didn't drift from her big brother. She knew that she'd told him they were good, but she was still pissed at him. And seeing him with Veronica, knowing full well that her supposed friend was actively helping her father destroy her home, it brought back all of that hurt. She blinked quickly, trying to ignore the tears burning behind her eyes. She couldn't cry in front of Archie, couldn't show weakness in front of Hiram's devotees.

Veronica looked between the siblings before clapping her hands together, pulling Amy out of her thoughts.

"So Amy," she beamed, "my dad gave me permission to take some friends up to our family lodge for a romantic getaway weekend and–"

"I heard," Amy told her.

"You did? Oh, Jughead, right?" Amy didn't react, but Veronica kept talking. "That makes sense, you guys are friends. But I was thinking, you and Sweet Pea should totally come! You definitely need a few days away from everything, and a couple's weekend is the perfect cure for anything. And daddy is totally okay with you coming, he said it might be a good way for us to get past our differences and repair our friendship."

Amy continued to stare at her blankly, watching the other girl begin to wilt before speaking up.

"Yeah, no, your dad is clearly trying to get Jughead out of town to pull some sketchy bullshit, so I have to keep an eye on him. Besides, me and Sweets aren't dating."

Veronica opened her mouth – no doubt to defend her father – but Archie spoke up before she could.

"You aren't?" He asked, looking at his sister with wide eyes.

"You're not what?" Sweet Pea asked.

Amy whirled around to see her partner approaching from behind, feeling the tension rising in her back like a first around her spine.

" _We_ aren't dating," she told him, gaze remaining carefully blank.

"Of course we aren't," he agreed, looking at the Northsiders. "Did you guys think–"

Amy blinked. She had expected his words, of course, but she hadn't anticipated the way that they would hit her, more painful than Sweet Pea's brass knuckles could ever hope to be.

"Everyone thinks so," Veronica told them.

"Well," Amy said sharply, gripping the strap of her backpack tightly, "everyone is wrong. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a criminal douchecanoe to stop and an English class to get to."

She pushed past them without waiting for a response, her shoulder connecting briefly with Archie's bicep. For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to let Archie hug her, to hide away in the safety of his arms. But as her boots clacked loudly against linoleum floors, she forced herself to walk by without so much as a glance his way. She was mad at him. He was helping a man who was trying to destroy her home. Maybe he wasn't safe anymore.

She felt Sweet Pea's familiar presence at her shoulder, but didn't look at him either. She couldn't afford to be weak, not ever but especially not now. So she took a deep breath, tossed her long ponytail over her shoulder, and finally, _finally_ , made it to class, grabbing a seat beside Kevin instead of her usual spot with her partners. She ignored Archie's worried looks from where he was sitting with Betty and Veronica, ignored Cheryl's pointed looks in between giggled whispers to her posse, ignored her partners' eyes boring into her from their usual back corner. She stared straight ahead, seeing nothing, only focused on maintaining her composure.

Kevin took one look at her – the bags under her eyes that her concealer couldn't cover, the steel in her spine that seemed to weigh her down instead of lift her up, the dark strands falling out of her usually impeccable ponytail – and raised his hand.

"Mr. Keller?"

The voice jarred Amy back into the present, blinking rapidly as she tried to tune into what Kevin was saying.

"Sorry I just, I'm feeling super lightheaded. Would it be alright for Amy to help me get to the nurse, just in case I faint or anything?"

Their teacher—Amy really should learn his name one day, she decided—nodded, and Kevin was quick to collect his belongings.

Despite her confusion, the Serpent did the same, following him into the hallway and around the corner.

"Kev?" She asked. "What's up?"

"No offence babe but you look like absolute shit–"

"Wow, thanks."

"Okay, you know that objectively you look hot as ever, but you look twenty seconds away from a complete breakdown and I didn't think you'd want to start crying in front of the entire class, so..." He shrugged. "Under the bleachers is the best place to get away from the world for a bit. Want to join me?"

Amy smiled, her first real smile of the day. Tears burned behind her eyes but for once they weren't from pain, but from happiness, from relief. Maybe she still had someone that she could lean on.

"Yeah," she nodded, voice thick with tears. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Kevin grinned back at her, linking their arms together to lead her to the football field she never visited. He brought her around to sneak under the back, sitting down on the damp grass and gesturing for Amy to join him.

She did so, collapsing onto the ground and laying her head in Kevin's lap.

Kevin's hands found their way into her hair, undoing her thick ponytail and carefully combing out the knots that had started to form.

"So, do you want to talk about what's going on?" he asked softly. "Or would you rather talk about Joaquin's dick?"

Amy groaned loudly, unable to hold back a giggle at his words.

"Don't tempt me, Keller," she retorted. "I don't even fucking know, honestly."

"Start small?" he suggested.

"So, not Joaquin's dick?" she teased, before taking a deep breath. "Honestly Kev, I don't even fucking know. I'm pissed at Jughead, I'm pissed at Sweet Pea and Fangs and Toni, I'm pissed at Archie, I'm pissed at Veronica… I'm less pissed at Betty but that's just cause I don't care about her enough to waste the energy… I'm pissed at FP too… I'm just angry and tired and I'm so fucking _sick_ of everyone telling me I'm crazy. I'm not crazy, Kev, I'm _not_." She sat up suddenly, looking at him with wild eyes. "I swear, I'm not fucking crazy, okay? I know I'm paranoid, I know that I expect the worst, but I'm not _crazy_. I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, Sister, I'm not–"

Her words merged together, turning into an incoherent string of syllables and frantic breaths, and Kevin was quick to pull her into a hug.

"You're not crazy," he told her firmly. "You're not. And no one thinks you are."

"They won't _listen_ ," she retorted. "They won't listen and they think I'm crazy and they're going to send me away and–"

Kevin blinked. Send her away? Why would she think that—oh. Suddenly he remembered, with startling clarity, Amy's previous references to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. She had mentioned it the very first time they met, but she'd talked about it so casually that he'd never really thought about it again. She treated it like little more than a minor inconvenience, just a blip on her radar, and he had let that brush away his concerns. But, clearly, it was a much bigger deal than she let on. It wasn't just about being gaslit, he realized, it was trauma – and he couldn't help but wonder how many other things he had let her dismiss in the same way.

She didn't respond at all when he shook her shoulder, or when he called her name. As much as he tried to break her out of her thoughts, she didn't seem to be aware of his presence. He tried to remember what little he knew about breaking someone out of a flashback – or was it a panic attack? He wasn't really sure – but the only other thing he could think of was the times he'd seen people get slapped out of them in movies. But whatever it was, it was clearly based in some deep rooted trauma, and if anything he'd heard about the Sisters of Quiet Mercy was true then violence would probably make it even worse.

So, desperate for any solution, he cupped her neck gently and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her breath stop and started to pull away, worried that he had overstepped, but she melted against him as her breathing returned to normal.

"Kev?" she asked, blinking slowly.

"I'm here," he promised. "Sorry about, you know, that… I wasn't sure what to do and you weren't responding at all, but I didn't think you'd want me to text Jughead so…"

"It's fine," she told him immediately. "I don't mind, kissing doesn't really mean anything…"

"So I've heard," he said lightly. "Speaking of which… word on the block says that you and Mr Tall Dark And Handsome aren't dating?"

"People seem so surprised," Amy mused. "Is it really that shocking?"

"Honestly yeah. I mean, you're practically inseparable, he calls you 'doll' and 'his girl' more than your name, you're _always_ making out and sitting on his lap and shit, and he's nearly fought everyone who's so much as looked at you wrong."

Amy nodded slowly, before returning to her previous position with her head in his lap.

"Yeah, that checks out I guess," she agreed. "Have you ever heard of queerplatonic relationships?"

Kevin blinked. "Not often, but yeah. That's… not romantic but more emotional commitment than friendship, right?"

Amy shrugged, an awkward move considering her position.

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean it's more complicated than that but that's the gist. That's, that's what the four of us are."

"All four of you?" Kevin echoed.

"Yeah, poly, you know… Joaquin was too, is, I don't know... Haven't seen him since… July, I guess? End of June?"

"It's not the poly thing that surprised me," Kevin told her, "Joaquin told me he'd been in a poly relationship, I get those, it's just… You and Sweet Pea are different from you four as a group."

"He's my person," Amy said softly. "He was the first person to ever say he loved me, back when we were little. He knew me first, he knows me best, we're just… closer. And he doesn't mind that I'm super fucking needy, you know?"

Kevin chuckled lightly, nodding. "I mean, that's fair. But… where does Jughead fit into it all? You said, well, you implied that you guys had all slept together but he's also dating Betty, and she definitely wouldn't be okay with him also not-dating you guys?"

Amy's eyes fell shut, relaxing as Kevin went back to combing through her hair absentmindedly.

"I don't really know," she confessed. "At first I thought – but then he and Betty got back together and then broke up and then got back together _again_ and broke up _again_ and now things are okay again? And like, whenever they break up, he's one of us and I know where we stand, but then they get back together and it's like, the world revolves around Cooper again? And I just, I don't know, Kev?"

Kevin nodded, before remembering that she couldn't see him with her eyes shut.

"That's fair… I mean, not that Jughead is all hot and cold with you, but that you're confused. Do you _want_ him to be a part of it?"

Amy's eyes snapped open.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I've never thought about that before, you know? I told him that he'd always have a place with us, whether it was for a quick orgasm or an emotional investment, and I meant it, I still mean it… but I… this on and off thing is fucking with my head. I don't know…"

Feeling her tense in his lap, Kevin was quick to pick up on the sensitivity of the subject.

"You don't need to know," he assured her. "I was just curious."

"It's alright," she told him. "I'm just confused and stressed and—and can we move on to Joaquin's dick yet?"

"Nice subject change," he laughed. "Of course we can. But, actually… I know this isn't really my place to ask, but, he told me he was gay? But he slept with you and maybe Toni? Was it experimenting, was he lying to me? Was he figuring things out–"

"None of those, really," she told him, sitting up and leaning her head on his shoulder. "He's gay, and he's never slept with Toni. He and I just… It's complicated, there's a lot of trauma involved in how it all started… but, I was in a bad situation, and he got me out of it, and things sort of spiralled from there. I love him so much, and I would love him just as much if we never had any sex – sex isn't a requirement for any of our relationships either – but it just kind of happened… I… I'm not up for getting into it too much, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, of course it is," he said. "Onto lighter subjects?"

Amy nodded, finding it surprisingly easy to fall into mindless conversation with Kevin. The topics flowed easily: musicals; Love Simon; Joaquin; talking shit about their classmates; favourite movies – anything they happened to think of was fair game. It was nice, she thought, to be able to let her guard down. And even though she knew that the bell would ring, and that she'd have to return to her problems, she could feel herself letting go of all of her real-world problems even if just for a moment.

But all good things come to an end, and soon Kevin was shaking her shoulder, letting her know that the bell had rung – and as much as she hated the idea of returning to class, she couldn't help the warmth that spread through her chest when she realized that Kevin had remembered her hearing loss, that he wanted to make sure that she knew what was happening.

Amy shifted slightly, so that he could crawl out from under the bleachers and offer her a hand to help her escape. She stood slowly, pausing to steady herself before the two took a moment to brush the grass and dirt off of their clothes.

"Once more unto the fray?" Amy asked lightly, holding out an arm.

Kevin linked their elbows together, smiling down at her.

"Once more unto the fray," he agreed.

Forcing her shoulders back, steel slipping back into her spine, Amy took one final breath before heading back to the school, feeling infinitely better with Kevin by her side than she had when she'd arrived that morning.

Of course it was just her luck that the class they'd skipped was the class that everyone shared, and they were swarmed as soon as they made it to the lounge.

Amy noticed the crowd first, locking eyes with Kevin for a moment before turning away. Trusting him to watch her back, she made a show of ignoring them all, of shoving a crumpled bill into the vending machine, of tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the bottle of red gatorade to fall down for her to grab, of taking her time opening it and taking a long swig before turning around, still ignoring them as she pulled out her phone.

"Kev?" she heard Betty ask. "Are you okay? You were gone the entire hour and didn't send a text or anything."

Amy didn't miss the way the blonde carefully excluded the Serpent from her concern. She didn't particularly care, either, rolling her eyes dramatically and smirking at Kevin's choked laugh.

"I'm fine," Kevin assured her. "Stuff came up."

"You know–"

But whatever Betty was going to say, Amy would never know. Just as she was about to tell the blonde where to shove it, she was surrounded by her fellow Serpents.

"Where were you guys?" Fangs asked, concern practically dripping off of him as he pressed himself against her side, mirrored by Toni on her other side as Sweet Pea leaned over her back, Jughead turning around in his chair to face her.

"It doesn't matter," she said easily, taking another sip of gatorade.

"What do you mean, doesn't matter?" Toni demanded. "You disappear for an hour, after _ignoring_ us, and now you're acting like everything's fine?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Amy saw Archie's head snap up. No doubt he'd heard the rising pitch of Toni's voice, no doubt they all had. She had to get the situation under control fast, or she would lose it completely.

"Like you all ignored my concerns this morning?" she shot back sharply, taking satisfaction in the way the taller girl recoiled. "Kevin is my _friend_ and he asked if I could walk him to the nurse's office, and we talked. That's all anyone needs to know."

"Amy," Jughead tried, voice soft even as he stumbled over the nickname he was so unused to using.

"Juggie," Betty called, voice sharp and calculating and leaving no room for her boyfriend – was he her boyfriend again? Amy wasn't really sure anymore – to finish whatever he was going to say.

The boy sighed, nodding at the blonde.

"I've got to go," he said instead, sounding almost but not quite apologetic. "We've got to pack so that we can head up to the Lodge's."

"Right," Amy said, voice as empty as she felt. "Sex getaway in the middle of war. Love the priorities."

"I–"

"Save it, Jones. Wouldn't want to leave Miss Priss waiting."

She stared at him blankly until he nodded, shuffling over to the Northsiders. With every step away from them, Amy felt the weight in her chest growing, her heart feeling more like lead than anything else.

She stared at her partners with blank eyes, looking but not really seeing them.

"Kev and I decided that tomorrow's seven o'clock showing would be best," she reported. "I've got to get to class, I'll meet you at the Jeep after the last bell?"

She didn't give them a chance to argue, booking it out of the room as fast as she could while still appearing unaffected.

The rest of her day passed in a haze; she didn't remember going to her classes, let alone what they talked about, and before she knew it she was leaning against the passenger door to the Jeep, waiting for her partners.

They arrived in a group, and Amy found herself both comforted and heartbroken to see that they all seemed completely normal, as if she hadn't been avoiding them for the entire day, as if her absence didn't matter.

She felt the telltale click of the doors unlocking, and climbed into the car, staring forward as she waited for someone else to break the unusually uncomfortable silence that covered the car like a suffocating blanket. Sweet Pea shifted the car into gear, taking off down the familiar route to the Wyrm.

"So," Fangs started slowly, carefully, like he was talking to a wounded animal. "What was… all of that about?"

If it had been anyone else, Amy might have lashed out, might have asked them what exactly 'all of that' entailed. But it was Fangs, her best friend, and she knew he was leaving it vague so that she could decide where she wanted to start.

"I'm mad at Jughead for fucking off to go on some romantic trip with his Northsider when he _knows_ that Hiram Lodge is up to something," she started calmly. "I'm mad that he knows that Hiram is trying to get out of town and is actually _doing it_. I'm mad at Veronica for acting like we're still friends when she's actively working with her dad to destroy our home. I'm pissed at Archie for ignoring my concerns because he cares more about his girlfriend's dad's opinion of him is more important than his _little sister's_. And I'm mad at you guys for dismissing me and treating me like I'm fucking crazy instead of at least hearing me out. I've had more than enough of that in my life, thanks. And I'm mad that you guys got mad at me spending time with Kevin when he's the only person in this entire town who seems to actually care about my thoughts and feelings."

Silence fell over the group once more, tense as Amy waited for her partners to process what she had laid out.

"Amy–" Fangs started, but she interrupted him softly.

"Can we… just not yet, please?" she asked, more hesitant than they were used to. "I'll try to stop being such a major bitch but… I think we need to think a bit before having this conversation?"

Toni sighed loudly, clearly not happy about it, but nodded sharply.

"Alright," she said. "So anyways, Cheryl told Jughead about Betty and Archie kissing – I overheard her on the phone with him in the bathroom."

"So what?" Amy scoffed, jaw tightening at the thought of the redhead bitch. "I told him about that ages ago, it's not exactly news."

Toni's eyes narrowed. "She's _hurting_ ," she insisted. "I don't know what's wrong, but something is clearly upsetting her for her to lash out."

"Jesus fuck, Topaz," Amy spat back, "are you and Jones starting an 'in love with Northside brats' club or something?"

"Well considering that she told me to get my 'Sapphic Serpent hands off her body', probably not."

"All that says is that you would if she were interested."

The boys had fallen silent, neither wanting to get caught in the nuclear blast that was a fight between the two girls, but they exchanged wide eyed looks through the mirror.

"Maybe she isn't as awful as you think," Toni said. "You sympathized when her dad died, remember? You offered to kill Nick St. Clair."

"Yeah I did, and she's done nothing but treat us like garbage in return. Cheryl fucking Blossom thinks that she runs the world and expects the rest of us to bow down and kiss her feet and thank her for deigning to let us exist on her planet. She's a selfish fucking _bitch_ who doesn't care about who she hurts as long as she gets what she wants, and the world would be better without her. She's pissed that they're going to some fancy ass cottage without her so she's trying to ruin their trip by upsetting Jughead, that's it. It's not some deep tragic bullshit or whatever you're thinking, sometimes people are just assholes. And for fuck's sake, Toni, I thought you knew that an explanation isn't the same as an excuse."

Amy unbuckled her seatbelt as she spoke, looking around at the perfect Northside houses that surrounded them.

"Pull over," she told Sweet Pea, cutting off whatever defence Toni was going to come up with next.

"Doll?"

"Fred's house is only three blocks away," she told him, trying desperately to force on her mask of neutrality. "I'm going there. Let me know where you guys are going to crash tonight and I'll find someplace else."

"Doll–"

"Pull over, Sweets. Please."

Sweet Pea did so, not bothering to hide his reluctance.

"Text me when you get there?" he asked.

"Of course," she agreed, offering him a small smile and twisting around to squeeze the hand that Fangs had placed on her shoulder sometime in her rant.

She slid out of the jeep, grabbing her backpack and shutting the door harder than necessary before setting off down the street. She saw the dirty looks she was getting from the Northsiders, saw the way parents crossed the street when they saw her, saw most of the blinds closing up and down the street – and the ones that didn't flew open, as suburban moms peered at her through their windows, whether it was to gawk or to make sure that she didn't rob people, Amy wasn't sure – but she forced herself to ignore it, holding her head high all the way to the Andrews' house.

She dug the key out of her pocket, knowing that Fred would still be at work, and let herself in. Thankfully Archie was already gone, so after dumping her backpack by the door, she didn't hesitate in closing the front curtains and collapsing onto the couch, shaking with badly suppressed sobs.

 _What happened!?_ she wanted to scream. _When did everything go to hell?_ She wanted to tell herself that she hadn't seen it coming, but she knew that wasn't true. She had seen it, but there hadn't been anything she could do. She had been a deer in the headlights, frozen as she watched everything fall apart around her. She knew that she had been juggling a lot, even by her own standards, but she thought she could handle it. She never expected that she would fumble, or that one tiny misstep would bring everything crumbling down like a house of cards.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, really. Sometime after the first hour of sobs, she'd guess, but she didn't remember when she went from crying, gasping desperately for air, to sound asleep and trembling silently. She knew she had, though, because she woke up to Fred's hand on her shoulder, a warm and steady weight as he shook her gently.

She moved slowly, rubbing at her eyes and trying to wipe away the dried tears that stuck to her cheeks and eyelashes. She had never been an overly snotty crier, for which she was grateful, but she still took the offered tissues to attempt to clean herself up.

"Hey sweetheart," Fred said quietly, "what's the matter?"

He opened his arms to her, and Amy dove in immediately. She felt safer with his arms wrapped around her, shielding her from the rest of the world. Truth be told, there was never anywhere she'd rather be than right here, head tucked into her adoptive father's shoulder with one of his hands brushing through her hair, just as Kevin had done that morning.

Vegas left his preferred napping space in front of the window to join them, laying across the couch to rest his face on Amy's lap. She carded one hand into his fur, taking comfort in his presence.

"Everything is ruined," she whispered, feeling more burning tears pricking the back of her eyes.

Fred didn't say anything, only hummed in acknowledgement.

"I… I ruined everything," she added. "I've been a total bitch to Jughead because I'm tired of him playing all hot and cold with me and I want him to make a decision already, but I really just pushed him away… I'm not _wrong_ about Hiram but Archie has chosen Veronica so I'm going to lose him too…"

Another time, Fred might have rushed to assure her that she wasn't going to lose Archie, but he knew that Amy needed to get this off her chest, and that if he spoke she might never finish.

"Toni is pissed at me because I called Cheryl a bitch and pointed out how horribly she treats us, and I've been pushing Fangs and Sweets away all day and they're definitely pissed at me for it too… I didn't mean to fuck everything up…"

"I know you didn't, sweetheart," he assured her. "And I'm sure that the others know too. I know you guys are all so stressed about Sunnyside right now, everyone must be really on edge. I'm sure once you've all taken a breather it will all work out."

Amy eyed him doubtfully, with a suspicious pout that he hadn't seen since she was much younger. His heart swelled, remembering the way the tiny nine year old used to hide behind Archie with that exact same expression when he or Mary would bring up any activities that she was unfamiliar with, or suggest anything that she wasn't sure about.

"And Archie will come around," he promised. "Right now, Hiram's approval seems like the most important thing to him because he's so infatuated with Veronica and is still worried about ruining their relationship. He's always put family first, and I'm sure that once he gets out of the honeymoon phase here he'll remember that. But you're his sister, okay? That's the most important thing, _you're_ the most important thing in his life. You always have been, since the day we told him that he would be getting a little sister. He's a teenage boy, and teenage boys can be idiots, but he'll figure out his priorities. And maybe this weekend will give him time to think about that without Hiram's looming."

Amy nodded weakly, not really believing him but still hopeful that he might be right.

"Hey," Fred said, soft as ever. "How about we head to Pop's tonight? Just us, like we used to."

Amy froze, before breaking into a bright smile. Her entire face lit up with excitement, eyes going wide as she nodded.

"Can I wash my face first?" she asked, knowing that her makeup must have her looking like a drowned racoon.

"Of course, sweetheart. Take your time."

Amy offered him another flash of that same blinding smile, bounding up the stairs to the larger of the two bathrooms in the house. She scrubbed the smudged mascara and eyeliner from her cheeks, finding one of the pencils she'd stolen from the Wyrm in a drawer and reapplying the sharp lines.

She was back downstairs in under five minutes, pulling her jacket out from the bottom of her backpack, where she kept it folded during school hours, and quickly shoving her most important belongings into the pockets.

"Ready?" Fred asked, once she had zipped up both pockets.

She nodded, shoving her feet into her boots while Fred grabbed the keys to the truck. She followed him outside, hoisting herself into the passenger's seat.

"Why can't anybody have a _short_ car?" she asked, getting a laugh and wordless shrug from the man.

They drove to Pop's in a comfortable silence, claiming a corner booth so that Amy could watch the door with narrowed eyes. They got a few questioning looks – and a few outright stares – as people noticed Amy, but Pop greeted them with a bright smile.

"Hey there Fred," he said. "Haven't seen a father-daughter dinner in a while."

Amy smiled fondly at the memory of the very first time Fred had brought her to Pop's, how he'd introduced her to the man as his daughter, and how it had been a monthly tradition for years, until the summer that ruined everything.

"Well, you know how crazy things have been," Fred chuckled.

"That I do, that I do… Will it be the usual for you both?"

Fred looked at Amy, waiting for her to decide. She nodded quickly, not wanting to think about food if she could help it.

"The usual would be great," Fred answered, before Pop disappeared back behind the counter.

It was only a couple of minutes later that the two milkshakes – vanilla for Amy and chocolate for Fred – and they accepted them with matching smiles.

Amy sipped at hers slowly, unable to stop her eyes from darting back to the door every few seconds. Try as she might, she couldn't focus on what Fred was saying, responding in little more than light hums.

Their food arrived soon, and Amy busied herself with pushing everything around on the plate. She took a few bites here and there, always when Fred was watching, but the majority of her food remained uneaten.

Truth be told, by the time Fred had paid and they were returning to the truck, Amy could barely remember any of the meal. She had tried as best as she could to pay attention, but her mind was racing with more worries than she could actually process. Before she knew it, they were getting back in the truck. The press of the cold window against her cheek was the only thing keeping her awake on the way home, her many sleepless nights finally catching up to her.

She stumbled out of the car, blinking slowly as she shut the door. As soon as they were inside, shoes and coats discarded on the front bench, Fred looked at her with the same soft eyes he always reserved for his kids.

"You're dead on your feet, sweetheart," he told her. "Why don't you head upstairs? Archie's not here so you can take his room, or you can take your–"

"I can sleep in the other room," she told him, not yet – not ever – ready to call it her own.

He nodded, giving her a tight hug and a kiss to the forehead before she grabbed her backpack and stumbled upstairs, Vegas close on her heels.

It had been a while since she had slept in the room they reserved for her, but nothing had changed. The dark wood floors and cream walls – she had never let them be painted, had never let it become personal – were the same, as was the soft green carpet that covered most of the floor and molded around her feet when she stepped on it. The desk, a dark oak piece that Fred had built years before she'd met him, still stood against the side wall, the bulletin board above it covered in photos, memorabilia, and notes that always made her smile. The bed, the same dark oak as the desk, was still across from the door, centered on the wall, perfectly aligned with the window above it. It was still made, green plaid sheets tucked in crisp hospital corners with the dark green duvet folded over neatly. And right in the middle, leaning against the pillows, was her copy of _Le Petit Prince_ , with a white bookmark sticking out where she knew she had left it the last time she'd gone back to her favourite book.

She dug through the dresser, on the wall across from the desk, pulling out an old pair of sweatpants – they had once been Sweet Pea's, she thought – and an old t-shirt of Archie's. She padded into the bathroom to wash off her makeup and braid her hair, looking years younger than when she'd left the trailer that morning, and finally returned to the room, where Vegas sat patiently at the foot of the bed.

She knew, had always known, that it was silly not to call it her own. It was her room, and had been for the better part of a decade. It held valued possessions, had been decorated to her tastes, and she had spent many nights curled up in that very bed with Archie after her nightmares would wake him up. But still, she couldn't help but worry. She ruined everything she touched, she lost everything she cared about – maybe if she pretended that it wasn't her room, that she was just a guest passing through, this would be the one thing she could keep.

She picked up her book, setting it on the nightstand beside the bed, and moved to pull back the blankets. Before she could, a small lump under the duvet caught her attention.

She reached to pull out the mystery item, tears welling in her eyes when she saw the worn out giraffe that had been so carefully tucked in. Fifi. She picked her up, holding her close to her chest and pressing her nose to the top of her head. She had always been soft, but years of holding her had left her almost impossibly so, fitting into her grasp like she was meant to.

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but to no avail, and the tears began to drip down her cheeks. Fifi. Archie had given the giraffe to her the very first time they met. Fred had driven her home from the Sisters Of Quiet Mercy on what would forever be referred to as Adoption Day, the day she had celebrated as her birthday ever since. She had been nervous, terrified, really, to meet her new brother. She had been so afraid that Archie would hate her and that Fred would send her back, and by the time they got to the house it was taking all of her efforts to keep breathing.

But she saw a flash of red jumping down from the window, and when they opened the door, Archie was already standing there with Vegas, still a puppy at the time, bouncing at their feet and trying to jump up to lick Amy. He was taller than her back then too, albeit not quite as significant of a height as they shared as teenagers, and was quick to pull her into a hug, talking at a mile a minute as he introduced himself. He stopped to breathe, and Amy quietly introduced herself, letting herself believe that maybe everything would be okay. But as Archie's silence went on, and he started to shift on his feet, wringing his hands in front of him, Amy knew that the worst had happened. Archie hated her. He was going to tell Fred that he didn't want a sister – that he didn't want _Amy_ – and she would be sent right back to the orphanage.

But just as she opened her mouth to apologize, to beg for them not to send her back, Archie's face lit up again.

"Wait here," he had told her, disappearing back into the living room and returning with a box in his hand, and Mary watching from the hallway. "I got you something."

He had passed her a gift bag, terribly wrapped but clearly his own handiwork. Amy had opened it slowly, feeling uncomfortable being the centre of attention, and had pulled out a stuffed giraffe. She could still remember her confusion, how she had looked between the giraffe and Archie with scrunched eyebrows, until Archie finally offered an explanation.

"Whenever my mommy comes home, daddy gets her flowers," he had explained, sounding very serious for being only nine and talking about a giraffe. "And you're coming home now, right?"

He had looked at her, and then at his parents, so sternly, as if daring them to correct him. As if he had already decided that this would be Amy's home, and that he wouldn't let any of them change that, not ever; that if they tried they would have to deal with him.

"But flowers die. But it's okay because mommy leaves again and then she comes back and she gets more flowers. But you're here forever now, just like me, so I needed to get you something that would last forever. And the giraffe was the softest, and everyone likes soft things."

He nodded, then. She could still picture it so clearly, as if it had only happened days ago rather than years. It had been such a serious nod, so self-assured and certain that he was right. That Amy was going to be with them forever, and that his new sister deserved the softest stuffed animal he could find; that she deserved a home and a family of her own.

Amy hugged Fifi even tighter, ignoring the way her tears soaked the fabric. She climbed into bed, laughing wetly when Vegas hopped up after her, curling up next to her head like a pillow. She curled in on herself, using one hand to pull the duvet up over her shoulders while the other continued to cling to Fifi as she cried. She wasn't sure, really, if they were tears of sadness, or of happiness, or if she was just overwhelmed by the memories, but for the second time that day, Amy fell asleep in tears.

 _Hey, teachers, leave them kids alone!_

Amy jerked awake, scrambling to grab her phone from the bedside table and silence the ringing. She knew it was important, those were the only calls that rang audibly, but she didn't want to disturb Fred or Vegas.

"FP?" She said quickly, bringing the phone to her ear. She didn't bother checking the caller ID, she had set custom ringtones for all of her primary contacts.

"Hey, kiddo," she heard, scratchy and barely understandable.

"Sorry, just, one sec."

She grabbed her hearing aids from the table, pulling the remote around her neck and switching her phone to bluetooth, so that she would hear everything through the aids instead.

"Sorry, had to switch over," she explained. "What's up?"

"How fast can you get to the trailer?" he asked. "It's not an emergency but I want to get everyone together."

She paused for a moment, taking in the unmistakable scent of Fred's french toast.

"Give me an hour?" she asked. "I promised Fred that I'd stick around a bit."

"Yeah of course," he chuckled. "You guys have a good time."

She said a quick goodbye and hung up, grabbing a soft grey sweater and Fifi, and padded carefully down the stairs with Vegas at her heels. The closer she got to the kitchen, the more the mouthwatering aroma hit her, making her realize just how hungry she really was. The growing scent of bacon only added to that, and she couldn't help but run a mental tally on how long it had been since her last actual meal. Long enough, for sure. She could allow herself to indulge for a change.

As soon as Fred noticed her in the doorway he flipped the pieces of french toast and stepped away from the stove, pulling her into a tight hug. It only lasted for a moment before he had to get back to cooking, but Amy smiled softly, grabbing maple syrup and cutlery for the table before lifting herself onto one of the chairs.

"Sleep well?" Fred asked, dividing the food onto two plates and setting one in front of her, and the other across from her where he took his own seat.

Amy nodded, still smiling. "Better than I have in… I dunno, since like last spring, I guess? I think I got like five-ish hours of sleep in total?"

Fred looked up from his plate, eyes wide and eyebrows knit together.

"Only five?" He repeated.

She shrugged, her smile dropping slightly. "I mean, that's more than usual? I think three or four hours a night is my average?"

"Sweetheart, that's… that's really dangerous. And," he added, before she could interrupt him, "I know your life is dangerous. Remember, FP has been my best friend since we were your age. I know that being a Serpent is dangerous, and I wouldn't ask you to leave them, but sleep deprivation is a different kind of dangerous, and makes everything else you get up to more dangerous too."

No matter how many times Amy found herself on the receiving end of a Fred Andrews Dad Lecture (trademark pending) she always found herself more than a little surprised by how concerned he would get over her.

"I… I know," she said quietly, pushing a forkful of french toast around on her plate. "But it's hard, you know? With… with the nightmares and everything…"

"I know sweetheart," he assured her, reaching across the table to squeeze her hands in his. "I just worry about you."

Amy could only offer him a wobbly smile, averting her eyes before she pulled her hands back to pick up her fork

"I know," she repeated, voice steadying even though she could no longer make eye contact.

Fred smiled back, pulling his hands away to continue eating.

Amy finished her plate – a rare occurrence in and of itself – faster than she had anticipated.

She looked down at her plate, hands twisting together as she tried to figure out what to say next.

"What's up, sweetheart?" Fred asked.

"It's just… FP called a Serpent meeting at the trailer. I know that I need to be there, and I _want_ to be there, but…"

"But you're not sure you're ready to face your friends?"

Amy nodded, her voice catching in her throat prevented her from giving him a verbal response.

"I'm sure it will be okay," he told her. "You've all had a chance to clear your heads and sleep on it, and I'm sure they've thought about everything you said as much as you've been thinking about what they said. Avoiding it will only make it harder to face each other, and I'm sure they're all worried about you."

Amy nodded again, taking a deep breath and rolling her shoulders back.

"You're right," she said. "I need to face them today. Whatever will happen, will happen, and putting it off is just delaying the inevitable – whatever the inevitable might be."

Fred blinked rapidly. He had seen his daughter in Serpent Queen mode before, but he had never witnessed the transformation. With her shoulders back and head up, spine straight as could be, eyes narrowed as she clearly made a game plan in her head, she already looked like a different person and she hadn't even added the makeup and leather that defined that particular piece of her identity.

"Go get dressed," he told her, "I'll clean up down here."

Amy gave him a bright smile, kissing him on the cheek before disappearing up the stairs. When she returned, it was clear that she had fully transitioned back into the Serpent Princess that she was. Her eyes were framed with dark eyeliner and mascara, her lips were their signature blood red, and her long hair was tied in its usual ponytail. The sweatpants and oversized t-shirt had been traded for skin tight black jeans that seemed to have more holes than fabric, layered over a pair of black fishnets and a strappy leotard, with only her jacket to fight off the winter chill. She wore some sort of belt around her waist, which connected to a pouch on her thigh, and he didn't want to think about what kind of weapons his daughter was no doubt carrying.

She slid her feet into her usual boots, spine seeming to straighten even more with the extra half a foot – well, he thought it might be half a foot – before bouncing back into the kitchen to hug him.

"Thank you," she mumbled into his chest. "Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart," he told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Do you need a ride?"

Amy shook her head, pulling her phone out of her pocket and quickly scanning the message on the screen. "Lottie's picking me up."

Fred nodded, giving her another squeeze before she pulled away, looking out the window to see a leather-clad figure parking a motorcycle in the driveway. Amy waved at him over her shoulder as she left, and he heard the tell-tale click of the lock moments before the motorcycle revved and took off down the road.

Amy clung tightly to Lottie until they reached FP's trailer. Only once the bike was fully parked did Amy get off, tightening her ponytail and giving the other girl back her spare helmet.

Lottie pulled a compact mirror out of her jacket pocket, eyeing herself critically before pulling out a tube of mascara and reapplying it. Once she was done, she offered the mirror to Amy, knowing that the princess would be even more concerned about her makeup than she was. Amy smiled appreciatively, grabbing her lipstick from the side pocket of her backpack. She fixed it quickly before shoving the lipstick back into her pocket and returning the mirror to Lottie.

"Thanks, Lottie."

"Anytime, you know that."

And Amy did know it. While they had never been as close as she and Toni, Lottie was one of Amy's closest friends in the gang. The blonde had joined only a year after Amy herself, and they'd been friendly even before that. She was Amy's favourite person to sit with in the classes that she didn't share with her partners, and they'd spent many a night drinking and dancing together in the Wyrm, or applying makeup in the dim lighting of the bar's bathroom before any official gang business. She might not have been Toni, or Fangs or Sweet Pea or even Jughead, but she was a friend, and Amy reckoned that she'd been more than a little neglectful of her friends since returning to Riverdale.

She linked their elbows together, offering the blonde a final, conspiratorial, smirk, before the two climbed up the stairs to FP's trailer. Amy didn't bother knocking – anyone else would have been expected to, but she never had, twisting the doorknob and letting them into the trailer, where about half of the gang had already gathered. She scanned the room quickly, noticing Byrdie in FP's usual chair, and her partners on the couch across from her. She knew that she needed to talk to them – she _would_ talk to them, but not before FP's announcement, not in front of the rest of the Serpents. Instead she offered them a small smile, feeling a weight lift from her chest when all three smiled back.

She continued to look around, memorizing where everyone was, until she finally saw FP standing by the doorway to the kitchen. Not letting go of Lottie, Amy crossed the trailer, immediately lifting herself onto the counter to sit beside him, while Lottie leaned against the counter on her other side.

"So," Amy said, voice cutting through the various conversations around the room. "FP, what's going on?"

FP waited until all eyes were on him before raising a beer bottle.

"We're safe!"

"What do you mean?" Amy demanded, grabbing the bottle from him. Despite her angle, it was easy to open it against the countertop, and she took a long drink.

FP rolled his eyes at her, but the wide smile didn't leave his face.

"No more eviction notices, no more back rent. It's all paid off. We're here to stay!"

The trailer filled with cheers, but Amy could only stare incredulously.

"By who?"

"Does it matter, kiddo?" FP asked. "We're all staying, isn't that what's important?"

Amy's stare hardened, eyes narrowing as she watched him. "Tell me, FP," she insisted. "Who the fuck paid it off?"

Her words went unnoticed by the rest of the gang, lost underneath the fanfare, but she knew that FP could hear her. She knew the answer already, there was no doubt in her mind, but somehow she still found herself surprised when the man answered her.

"Hiram."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she snapped. "God, is this why Veronica wanted to get Jughead out of town? He's off fucking his little Northside Princess meanwhile Hiram Lodge is buying our fucking home"

"Adams–"

"Don't you fucking 'Adams' me, FP. I told you _all_ that he was up to something and you all told me I was going crazy. Hiram fucking _owns_ Sunnyside now, you do realize that, right? You think he did that out of the goodness of his heart?"

"Amy–"

"Fuck this," she spat, downing the rest of the beer. "I'll tell Jughead and have a word with Holly fucking Golightly."

She didn't wait for his approval, or any response at all, before she was storming out of the trailer. She paused for just a moment to text Fangs, asking him to let the other two know that she was heading up to Shadow Lake, before grabbing her helmet and climbing onto her bike, still at the trailer from the night before.

The ride was longer than she would have liked, and the sun was starting to go down in the late afternoon sky by the time she got there. She had pulled over in the town, stopping to grab a cup of coffee and to decide what to say, when suddenly her phone beeped in her pocket.

She pulled it out, surprised to see that it was Jughead who had texted her – had one of the others already told him about what happened?

 **Princeling:** _SOS! Armed robbers at the cottage, not sure what to do_

Amy blinked. She wasn't sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn't an _armed robbery_. She took a steadying breath, typing out a quick reply and hoping desperately that she wouldn't be too late. No, she couldn't think that way. She wouldn't be too late, it wasn't an option. She hit send with one hand, shifting her bike back into gear with the other.

 **Princess** _ **:**_ _stay put and stay calm, I'll be there in two minutes_

She shoved her phone back into her pocket, taking off down the winding road towards the cottage, finding herself grateful that she'd insisted on Jughead sending her directions in case of an emergency.

Just as she pulled into the massive driveaway, she saw figures running out of the cottage and a flash of red following behind – Archie, no doubt.

She climbed off of her bike, grabbing the gun from her pouch as she took off after her brother. She saw Archie tackling a hooded figure, raising his fist. She was just about to reveal her position when another figure stepped out from between the trees – Andre, the Lodge's chauffeur. She watched as he spoke to Archie, watched as Archie stepped away from the body and back towards the cottage. But before she could follow him, she noticed Andre pulling out a gun. She was quick to pull out her phone, knowing in her gut that she would one day need this recorded – a bargaining chip against Hiram Lodge, most likely, a way to get her home back.

She didn't flinch when the gunshot rang out, when the bullet passed straight through his skull, splattering blood everywhere. Her hand remained as steady as her eyes, filming until Andre had turned and disappeared back into the forest, leaving the body to rot.

Only once he was completely out of sight did she put away her phone, heading back towards the cottage.

She could see Archie heading inside just as she exited the forest, and debated momentarily whether or not she should approach. Eventually she admitted to herself that she really had no choice, she _had_ told Jughead that she would be there, after all. So she quickly sent off the video of Andre – best to have multiple copies and all that – to her partners and to the phone that she knew Malachai kept hidden in the House Of The Dead, and crossed the driveway, pressing down on the doorbell until someone unlocked the door.

Oh.

She hadn't expected it to be Archie, despite knowing that he had only just entered the house himself, and she wasn't prepared for the way her chest tightened upon seeing him. But it wasn't anger, exactly. At least not the same anger that she'd felt the day before. It was… she wasn't sure exactly what it was, but something like longing, deep and all consuming and slowly squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"Ames? What are you doing here?"

"Jughead sends an SOS, I show up," she shrugged.

And it was true, she realized. No matter where they stood, no matter how hot and cold Jughead played, Amy couldn't stop herself from being there when he asked her. Even before he joined the Serpents, even before the Ghoulies had beat him up, ever since he stepped foot into Southside High; if Jughead needed her, Amy was there. Even when it hurt. Even when seeing him was the very last thing she wanted, something in her made it impossible not to show up when he called.

Almost as if summoned, or maybe having heard his name, Jughead appeared over Archie's shoulder only a moment later, with the two girls close behind.

"Amy?" Jughead asked, still stumbling over the nickname but knowing that she would hate for him to use her full name around either girl. "What are you doing here?"

"I got your SOS," she said. "It's handled. I watched Veronica's driver kill the boy."

She thought momentarily about mentioning the footage, about reminding Veronica exactly who held the cards, but she didn't. There was someone she needed to talk to before she would do anything about it, someone who she knew would never dismiss her concerns or call her crazy, someone who would know exactly what she needed to do.

"He… he killed him?" Betty asked, eyes wide.

Amy rolled her eyes, rolling back her shoulders and straightening her spine for good measure.

"Shot him through the skull," she explained. "A bit messy for my taste, and totally unnecessary, but hey," she shot a sharp glance at her brother. "Is anyone surprised by a Lodge minion being a criminal?"

She ignored his wide eyed stare and Veronica's sputtering, focusing only on the twitch of Jughead's lips, the way she knew he wanted to agree with her but had to hold back.

"Still," he said slowly, "how did you get here so fast? We're hours away from Riverdale."

"Oh, right," she forced a small chuckle. "I was already on my way. We need to talk."

"What's –"

"Not you, Red," she insisted, and she could feel that vice like grip on her heart once more. Her body trembled from all the effort it took to keep her spine perfectly straight. She had really thought that her night at Fred's, a full five hours of sleep, and all of the crying, would have been a reset button on her emotions, but seeing the boys, it was like none of it had ever happened.

 _God_ , she was exhausted. Could none of them see it? Toni noticed Cheryl's supposed pain in seconds – really though, the Blossom was just a bitch with a victim complex and Toni was falling for it – but never seemed to realize just how tired her supposed best friend was. She wished that she could stop, wished that she could drop the steel from her spine, the ice from her veins, the venom from her tongue, but she couldn't.

She knew they didn't get it, knew that they all thought she was crazy, but she was fighting a _war_ , and she couldn't afford to slip up for even a moment. Not even when her brother was looking at her with the same worry that had been carved into his bones after her very first nightmare at the Andrews' house, the very first night she'd spent there.

She wanted nothing more than to tell him, to curl up with him and tell him everything that was going on in her life, but the lines had been drawn in the sand already, and they weren't on the same side anymore. So she dug her nails into the palm of her hand, taking a small, calculated breath, and narrowed her eyes.

"I know exactly where you and your _girlfriend_ stand, and as long as you side with Hiram, you are a threat to me and mine. A threat to my safety, a threat to my life. I cannot and will not trust either of you while that asshole _owns_ you. And I know full well that Cooper is against me no matter what the sides are, even–" she glanced back at Jughead, at the almost imperceivable shake of his head. "Even after I disposed of a body for her and her bitch of a mother. I might not trust Jones either, I know he'll always put her first, but he has every right to know and the rest of you _don't_."

She could pinpoint the exact moment that Archie's heart shattered, could see the nausea that filled Betty at having her secret revealed, could even see the calculations behind Veronica's eyes, of how to fix everything in a way that benefited her. But Amy wasn't going to be Hiram Lodge's pawn, not ever, and she wasn't going to give Veronica a chance to play wannabe-mob-princess.

No, she was done with the little games. She was at war, and everyone except for Jughead had proven themselves more than willing to fight against her. She would always love Archie, more than she'd ever loved anyone else, but he wasn't the same boy who'd given her a stuffed giraffe all those years ago. Gibson and the Black Hood and Veronica had changed him, and her certainty that he would always put her, his little sister in all but name, above anything was gone.

It hurt her to think about it, to imagine going back to a life without Archie. She would miss him – she already missed him, and he was standing right in front of her. She missed the feeling of security that used to come with his presence, the knowledge that he would never let anything bad happen to her. She would miss making breakfast together, dancing around the kitchen as they cooked. She would miss their sleepovers, climbing into his bed after a nightmare or staying up all night catching up on their lives, until she was too tired to return to the other room. More than anything, though, she would miss having a big brother.

She would even miss her tentative friendship with Veronica, the evenings spent playing dress up with her and Kevin, the group chat they'd shared. She remembered the SoDale Open House, how Veronica had trusted her, and only her, to protect her from Nick St Clair. She remembered the Matchelorette party, and the games of Secrets And Sins, even the outfits that still lived in the back of Jughead's closet. She had thought that maybe she could be friends with the heiress, but Veronica had actively and enthusiastically assisted her father, and Amy could no longer be sure if their friendship had ever been genuine, or if she had always been laying the groundwork for Hiram.

She wouldn't miss Betty, though. Would never miss the judgemental stares and holier-than-thou hypocrisy. She wouldn't miss the way the blonde thought that a single speech made up for a lifetime of derision towards the Southside, wouldn't miss the way she talked about Amy or her partners.

But she would miss Jughead, if he chose the blonde. She would miss everything about the boy, from his beanie to his literary references to the way he always pushed his plate closer to her when she wasn't eating. She would miss the flirting and how easily he blushed and the way he fit so perfectly with them, as if they were always meant to be five – or six, once Joaquin was back with them. She would miss the way he defended her to the other Serpents, even before they had become friends, and the way that he always seemed to know what she needed to hear. She would miss being on the same wavelength as him, working as a perfect team without needing to talk about it. She would miss –

Her train of thought was interrupted by Jughead catching her eye, watching her with obvious concern, and Amy realized something. He hadn't chosen, yet. She hadn't lost him, and maybe she wouldn't. Trying to force those thoughts out of her head, Amy raised an eyebrow at him and he immediately stepped forward, following her outside.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, leading her around a corner to a stretch of trees that kept them out of sight of the cottage – lodge – mansion – whatever it was.

Amy laughed, bordering on hysteria as she paced around the small clearing.

"Well, I'm paranoid and crazy and _right_ ," she ranted. "Everyone hates me and I can't trust Archie anymore and I _should_ be talking to the others but they're just going to ignore me again and–" she forced herself to take a deep breath and stand still, rolling back her shoulders and finally meeting Jughead's gaze fully. "Hiram Lodge just bought Sunnyside. Paid all the back rent. And everyone is fucking _celebrating_."

Jughead could only blink, taking a moment to process everything she had said and to decide on what order to address it in.

Taking a deep breath of his own, he took her hands gently and led her over to sit with him on a tree stump.

"You're not crazy," he told her, "or paranoid. You're cautious and you don't trust easily but you know what they say – it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you."

He got a teary laugh for his efforts, and couldn't help but smile at the sound.

"Right? Besides, you said Hiram bought Sunnyside, that's proof that you were right. Okay?"

Amy nodded weakly, offering him as much of a smile as she could muster.

"But Hiram owns Sunnyside," Amy reminded him. "That's _why_ he wanted you out here. That's why he suggested that Veronica invite me and Sweets, too… if he had any good intentions, he wouldn't have needed to force us out of town."

"I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry, Amethyst, I never should have left you to fight a war alone. Do you want to talk shit or strategy? Or… would you rather talk to the others?"

Amy blinked, taken aback by the sudden hesitation.

"No way," she said firmly. "Juggie, listen to me. Am I mad that you left? Honestly, yeah, I am. But as long as we're on the same team, there's no one I'd rather talk strategy with."

"Well," he corrected, with a playful grin, clearly relieved by her words.

"Well," she agreed, grinning back.

"And we are, for the record," he added. "On the same team. Always."

Amy could only stare at him, feeling all of her previous anger dissipating.

"So," Jughead coughed, after a long moment. "Knowing you, you have concrete proof of Andre killing the guy?"

"Of course. I texted it to the others, just in case an _accident_ happened – I didn't want to send it to you in case one of the others saw your phone, but I can send it now?"

Even though it had been phrased as a question, she was already pulling out her phone while she spoke, sending it as he nodded. She had to give him credit for how far he'd come since his early days as a Serpent, watching him load the video. He barely flinched as the bullet pierced the boy's skull, waiting until the video was done and his phone was back in his pocket before dropping the stoic mask he'd forced himself to wear.

Amy took his hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over his.

"You good?" she asked softly. "Or would you rather table this?"

"No. I'm fine, we have work to do."

"Welcome back, Princeling," Amy teased, and Jughead could only roll his eyes fondly.

"Glad to be here, Princess," he retorted. "So, the video? I'm guessing you aren't planning to use it yet?"

"Not yet. I thought about it, but I need to get a bit of advice first… That's going to be my first mission tomorrow, I think."

"Not tonight?"

"Got a movie date with Kevin tonight, and I'm already pushing it for time."

Jughead nodded, checking the time on his phone.

"I guess you probably want to head back now, then?"

Amy shrugged.

"Want to? Not really. Should? Yeah, I probably should. Rain check on the strategizing?"

"Of course. We're heading back tonight, so I'll stay with them to make sure Veronica doesn't get too suspicious, then we can meet at the trailer?"

"Yeah, works for me."

Jughead stood first, offering a hand to pull Amy up after him. She brushed off the back of her jeans, tightening her ponytail out of habit, and followed him back to the house.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, Betty was grabbing Jughead by the arm, shooting a pathetically weak glare towards Amy.

"Come on, Juggie," she said, though she didn't stop looking at Amy. "Let's go back to the bedroom."

It was only then that Amy noticed the state they were in – Jughead with a flannel shirt that had been buttoned up incorrectly, and Betty in just a bathrobe, and her mind went blank. Of course she could count on Jughead to promise that they were on the same team, right after he had been fucking the Northsider.

"You guys have fun," she said, voice tight. "Don't worry about that raincheck, Jones, focus on your priorities."

She didn't wait for him to answer, or to give Archie another chance to talk to her. Instead she turned away quickly and climbed back onto her bike, strapping on her helmet and taking off faster than she knew she should be going.

She made it to the Bijou just in time to see her partners turning the corner, and Kevin getting out of the Sheriff's car. Amy forced down the rush of anxiety that came with seeing the cruiser, pasting a bright smile on her face and waving at her friend.

She made her way over to him, feeling her shoulders loosen when the Sheriff drived away. Kevin wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and the two watched as the other Serpents parked their bikes. They started off towards the duo, but Toni stopped in her tracks. They had some sort of rushed conversation – too quiet for Amy to hear – before Toni was turning and walking away from them towards – Oh. Towards Cheryl Blossom's obnoxious convertible.

Amy could only watch and blink, feeling tears burning at the back of her eyes. Toni glanced over her shoulder towards the shorter girl and Amy forced herself to take another breath, and another, and another, and refused to look away until Toni did.

She felt Kevin's grip on her shoulder tighten, turning her away and leading her towards the theatre.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "Do you want to leave?"

Amy sighed, leaning into his hold.

"I mean, yes, but also, fuck no. We're the ones who actually wanted to see this movie, she only even considered coming so that I would shut up. So yeah, I kind of want to curl up in a ball and pretend that this weekend never happened, but I won't let Cheryl fucking Blossom keep me from seeing the movie."

Kevin opened his mouth, but shut it again as he noticed the two Serpents approaching them.

"Hey doll," Sweet Pea said, pulling her away from Kevin and into a tight hug, before passing her over to Fangs so that he could hug her too. "Everything okay? You disappeared after the meeting and went totally AWOL – other than that video–"

"I'm fine," Amy told him quickly, glancing around the room for potential evesdroppers. "I had to talk to Jones, and it was a longer trip than I expected. We can talk about the rest tonight, yeah? I just… honestly I just really need some mindless movie watching?"

Sweet Pea nodded immediately, pulling her back towards him and bending over to drop a kiss to her forehead.

"You got it," he promised her.

The four made their way through the lobby towards the theatre, but found themselves freezing when they heard a loud voice.

"Kevin!"

They all turned, seeing Moose and Midge standing together, the former waving a hand.

"I thought you were joining us?" Moose prompted, and Amy made a show of rolling her eyes.

Kevin turned to look at Amy, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Go ahead," she told him with a soft smile – she may have hated the jock, but if Kevin wanted to try and build a friendship there then, well, that was his choice to make.

"You sure?" he asked. "I don't want to ditch you or anything."

The "like Toni" went unsaid, but Amy heard it clear as day, and felt her heart swelling at his concern.

"Seriously, Kev," she assured him. "You have fun, and text me all of your thoughts afterwards, yeah?"

Seeing that he still looked unsure, Amy offered him a conspiratorial smirk.

"Besides," she said, loud enough for him, her boys, and the two Northsiders to hear. "It just means I don't have to feel bad about getting these two off in the back of the theatre."

Kevin laughed, hugging her quickly and promising to text her his thoughts at the end of the movie, and the three Serpents finally made it into the theatre, claiming three seats in the back corner. First it was Fangs, right up against the wall, then Amy in the middle where she could reach both of her boys, and Sweet Pea on her other side, a wall between his partners and any potential threat. Usually Toni would be between Amy and Fangs but well – Amy didn't particularly want to think about why the other girl wasn't in her usual spot.

"Do you want me to get you one of those captioning things?" Sweet Pea asked, and Amy blinked at him.

"I… yeah, actually, might as well, if you don't mind?"

"I never mind, doll," he promised her, standing and making his way back to the lobby.

He returned shortly with the device, passing it to Amy for her to set up. It had been a long while since she'd used one – a long while since she'd seen a movie in theatres, really – but it was with an easy familiarity that she set it up, angling it so that she would be able to read the captions and watch the screen at the same time.

She could see Toni and Cheryl up near the front of the theatre, and Kevin with Moose and Midge towards the middle. Before she could look to see if she recognized anyone else, the room went dark and the screen lit up.

Amy enjoyed the movie, she really did, but she hadn't expected it to hit quite so close to home.

She listened, and read, as Simon got outed, feeling something clench in her chest as he declared that it was supposed to be his choice, that he was supposed to decide who to tell and when. She felt tears burn in her eyes, remembering how little control she'd had over her own secrets over the years, how often someone else was deciding when to share her private information, and her heart ached for Simon.

And then, when his mother was talking – god, Amy was almost surprised that she hadn't broken Fangs or Sweet Pea's hands with how tightly she was holding them, or that they hadn't broken hers with the force they were using to squeeze back.

She might not have had a mother, ever, but she had FP, and Sweet Pea, and she knew that they'd both watched as she went from a carefree little girl running wild around the Wyrm to a traumatized shell, always holding her breath and waiting for the other shoe to drop, always ready for war. But unlike Simon, she knew that little girl was gone, that she had died the moment she found her father's lifeless body in the living room of their trailer.

She could feel hot tears running down her cheeks, but couldn't bring herself to let go of either boy to wipe them away, instead waiting until the credits to do so, hoping that her makeup hadn't gotten ruined in the process.

"You look gorgeous, babe," Fangs whispered to her, and she couldn't help but smile, letting him pull her up so that they could follow Sweet Pea back to their bikes.

The two boys exchanged a look over her head, one she couldn't decipher but trusted nonetheless. She might have asked, even, but her attention shifted when she noticed Toni walk past them, past the bikes, over towards _Cheryl's_ car.

"Come on," Fangs said suddenly, and Amy knew without turning that he was watching the exact same thing as she was. "Let's go to Pop's."

"I – what?"

"Let's go to Pop's," Sweet Pea repeated. "It was our plan before, and we shouldn't let Cheryl fucking Blossom make us change it, right?"

He did have a point, and it would piss Cheryl off to see Southside Scum on her sacred Northside, so Amy nodded, climbing onto her bike and the trio took off.

They parked in clear view of the windows – no need to make themselves easy targets for vandalism – and entered the diner. The first thing Amy noticed when they walked in was that Kevin was still with Moose and Midge, looking more than a little bit uncomfortable as they spoke.

She nodded towards an empty table for the boys to claim, making her own detour towards Kevin just in case he needed to be rescued.

"–No, we need to find you someone!" she heard Midge insist, and relaxed minutely. "What about one of those new Southside guys? I hear one of them is gay."

"If it's Fangs Fogarty," Kevin told her, "I don't think I could date someone named Fangs."

Amy couldn't hold back her laugh at that, and quickly slid into the space next to him.

" _Thank you_ , Midge," she said. "I've been trying to convince him to let me set him up with someone for like, months, and he keeps turning me down. I could really use a partner in crime on that mission, and I bet if we teamed up he'd actually let us."

"Your idea of trying to set me up is offering to let me have sex with your boyfriends," Kevin reminded her.

"Because I know first hand that they'll treat you right," she retorted. "And they're not my boyfriends."

"They sure act like they are. And I don't think Fangs is int–"

"Fangs is interested if you're interested," Amy assured him. "But he doesn't want to push and make you freak out because he thinks it's more important that I have friends or something." She turned back to Midge, rolling her eyes fondly. "See what I have to deal with?"

Midge laughed, seeming not entirely sure of what to make of Amy, but nodded.

"I can see why you need an assist," she agreed. "I'll work on Kev, but you should get back to those two before they think we've kidnapped you."

Amy looked over at her partners, who were indeed watching the conversation suspiciously.

"You may be onto something there. Kev can give you my number, text me whenever – I'm pretty much always on my phone so I don't usually take too long to answer, and we can do some scheming."

With a final wave – as usual, she didn't wait for a response – Amy stood, making her way back over to the boys.

Sweet Pea stood so that she could slide into the corner seat, wrapping his arm around her once he had settled back in. Amy wasn't surprised to find that they had already ordered, but was grateful for the fact that they'd only ordered her a milkshake and, by the looks of it, placed some of their own fries onto a plate for her, with a bowl of gravy beside it.

She wasn't sure how much she would actually be able to eat, but she took a slow sip of the vanilla milkshake, absentmindedly scanning the diner.

"So, what was that all about?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Oh." Amy blinked, and then smirked. "Midge and I are trying to get Fangs and Kevin to hook up."

"Babe–" Fangs sputtered, while Sweet Pea burst into loud laughter.

"Come on, babe," Amy shrugged, "you so want to fuck him, and he's totally into you."

Since he couldn't deny her statement, Fangs tried to fight off his rising blush with a grin. "Guess I should send Midge a thank you card, then."

"What about me?" Amy pouted playfully.

"Well, you're just a brat," he retorted, and Amy kicked him under the table.

Sweet Pea cut off the inevitable kicking war with a sharp glance.

"Finish this later," he told them. "Doll, you need to actually eat."

Amy rolled her eyes, pointedly biting into a fry.

Sweet Pea only raised an eyebrow, and Amy huffed, but ate another fry, and the three fell into easy conversation, the boys finishing their meals and all three of them sipping at their milkshakes. Amy was surprised by how much she was enjoying herself, by how _okay_ she felt.

And then she looked up. And right over Fangs' shoulder, she saw Toni. More accurately, she saw Toni and Cheryl, and she saw Toni grabbing Cheryl's hand.

"Let's go," she said sharply.

She watched as both boys followed her gaze, and felt Sweet Pea tensing beside her.

"Let's go," Fangs echoed.

The three stood, making their way over to the counter to pay. Sweet Pea parted from them without a word, and Amy watched nervously as he approached the missing member of their quartet. They were too far for her to hear what he was saying, but she had no doubts that it would be an unpleasant conversation.

She would have liked to watch, and she knew that Fangs wanted the same, but their attention was quickly pulled away as they had to pay, making polite small talk with Pop Tate until Sweet Pea rejoined them.

The trio started to make their way outside but were blocked at the door by the arrival of – of course, and wasn't that just Amy's luck – Jughead, Archie, Betty, and Veronica.

Amy froze, eyes wide as she stared at the group. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kevin turn to look at them, and, as much as she appreciated his concern, it was too much. It was all too much. First it was Cheryl and Toni, who were still behind her and undoubtedly watching. Then the group of Northsiders across from her – the concern on Jughead and Archie's faces was impossible to ignore, as was the annoyance on Betty and Veronica's. And Kevin to the side – she trusted him, she did, but he had been Betty's friend long before they ever met, and she wasn't sure what to make of Midge yet.

It was too much. So Amy did the only thing she really could do, rolling back her shoulders and locked her gaze on some point beyond Archie's shoulder. She pushed past them, not bothering to apologize or even to look at them, staring straight ahead until she made it outside and to her bike.

She put on her helmet, sitting in silence until the two boys joined her.

"So, just us tonight?" she asked quietly.

"Jug decided to stay with the Northsiders," Fangs reported.

"And Toni is staying with Blossom." As upset as she was, Amy could still appreciate the venom with which Sweet Pea spat out the Northsider's name.

"Well," Amy said sharply, refusing to look back towards the diner, "nice to know where we stand. Jeep night?"

Sweet Pea nodded silently, exchanging a worried look with Fangs, and the three set off. They made it to the trailer park in – not record breaking but certainly less than legal – time, parking beside the Jones' trailer and climbing into the Jeep.

Fangs dragged Amy to sit with him in the back, letting her lean against him and relax as they drove out of town. After almost an hour, Sweet Pea pulled into an isolated clearing, parking in the shade of a small cluster of trees.

Converting the trunk into a bed was really just muscle memory, and they had it finished in a matter of minutes. They changed into pyjamas quickly, all of them relieved that they hadn't removed their spares from the car despite having taken to spending almost every night in the trailer. Climbing into the trunk felt like coming home, and Amy found herself sandwiched between the two boys, passing her contact lenses and hearing aids to Sweet Pea so that he could put them into their cases for her.

Once both were safely put away, Fangs snuggled in towards Amy, reaching across her to pull Sweet Pea closer.

"This is nice," he said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the blanket of calm that had settled over the Jeep. "Getting away from all the bullshit, just us… like it used to be."

"Toni used to be with us," Amy countered, voice soft and thick with tears.

"Babe…" Fangs murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"What's going on with that?" Sweet Pea asked, after a moment of silence. "I know you guys fought about Blossom but usually the two of you bounce right back…"

"If Toni prefers the classist bitch to, I don't know, her best friends and partners of several years then honestly, that's her business and her fuckup. But I'm also not going to pretend that I'm okay with it," she said, shrugging as best as she could while laying down.

"What about Jug?" Fangs prompted. "On our way out of Pop's, he was asking why you're mad at him."

"Not mad," she said tersely. "Just figured he wouldn't want me around after I interrupted he and Cooper fucking – well, the robbery interrupted them, but you know what I mean…"

"Honestly? Not really," he told her. "I feel like I'm missing something here."

"Look, maybe I just don't get why they're sucking up to those Northsiders, okay?"

"You disappeared on us yesterday with no warning to go hang out with Keller," Sweet Pea argued.

"Yeah, because you guys kept calling me crazy! Besides, Kevin is just a friend."

"What makes him any different?"

"He asked if I was okay."

"Sorry, what?" Fangs interrupted.

"He asked if I was okay," Amy repeated. "Betty and Cheryl, they don't give a shit about any of us unless it benefits them somehow. I mean, fuck, Cheryl treats us like dirt constantly, you both know that, and Betty just doesn't give a singular shit about us – remember when she tried to throw the Serpent Dance in mine and Toni's faces even though she literally tried to do it herself?

"But Kev… he's never treated us like shit, despite his dad being kind of the worst, and… fuck, look… I was _completely_ falling apart yesterday, okay? By the time we reached first period I didn't think I'd make it through the hour without having a complete meltdown, and _none of you noticed_. You were all busy calling me paranoid, _which I wasn't_ , and making me feel even worse. But Kevin noticed. And he did something about it. He got me out of class and got me somewhere safe so that I could fall apart and put myself back together, that's like… the complete antithesis of the other two."

She paused, giving the boys a chance to process everything she had said, before she took a breath and continued.

"Besides, he's Joaquin's boy. _God_ , I haven't seen Joaquin in almost a _year_ , okay? Like, sue me for being a bit desperate to feel some sort of connection to him."

The boys looked at each other over her head, their wordless conversation – filled with concern and confusion – went unnoticed by Amy, whose eyes had lit up and who was quickly rising to her knees and turning around to face them.

"But fuck that, right?" She said with a wild grin. "They're not here. Not Joaquin, not Toni, not Jug, not the Northsiders. It's just us. It's never just us anymore, we should take advantage of it."

The grin never left her face, bright and carefree and a little bit too manic for either boy's comfort. She leaned forward, reaching for Fangs' waistband, but Sweet Pea stopped her with a firm hand on her wrist.

"Not tonight," he told her.

Amy blinked, smile dropping at his harsh rejection.

"Why not?" Amy asked, turning to glare at him, eyes watering.

"Because something is bothering you and you aren't telling us. I love you, Doll, we both love you, but you can't use sex to get out of talking about why you're upset"

"Well maybe I don't know why I'm so upset, Sweets," she spat, pulling her hand out of his grasp to curl in on herself.

"Hey," Fangs said softly, hoping to stop the fight before it began. "It's okay, babe. You don't need to know, okay? We just want you to know that we'll be here when you're ready to talk. But, Sweets is right; you're upset and when you're upset like this you won't actually _enjoy_ anything we do, and it's not fun for us if you aren't having a good time too, okay? So how about we take a raincheck, get some quality cuddles in, and try to sleep?"

Amy sighed, but let him pull her back down until her back was pressed right up against his chest, her head tucked into the crook of Sweet Pea's neck with his arm flung across her to hold Fangs.

She hadn't expected to fall asleep so easily, or to sleep for nearly as long as she had, but when she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the orange and pink hues of the early morning sky, not the starry darkness of the night. Despite getting a good night's sleep at the Andrews' house the night before, she was still unused to waking up naturally instead of from an alarm, her phone, or a nightmare, and she let herself snuggle back into Fangs and close her eyes again – for once, she had no immediate crisis to solve. For once, she was allowed to relax.

She didn't realize that she had fallen back asleep, but the next thing that she knew, she could feel the two boys shifting on either side of her, exchanging low whispers that she wouldn't have been able to hear even with her hearing aids in. As tempting as it was to keep her eyes closed and try to catch up on some much needed sleep, she forced herself to open them.

Much to her relief, it didn't appear that there was anything urgent going on. It was clear that the movement she had felt was simply the boys repositioning, sitting upright and leaning back against the front seats of the car, Amy's head no longer against Sweet Pea's neck but nestled by his hip. She blinked slowly, a small smile gracing her face as she watched them.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Fangs teased, smiling down at her.

"Mornin," she drawled, making grabby hands towards Sweet Pea until he passed her her hearing aids and contacts.

"Thanks," she mumbled, equipping herself with practiced ease. "Did I miss anything?"

Fangs shook his head. "Nothing yet. But you can check too."

He passed her her phone, and as soon as it was in her hand, she found herself remembering the video from the day before.

"Shit," she hissed. "I really want to stay here all day but, can we head back to Sunnyside? I need to get changed and go to the jail."

"Yeah, for sure. Everything okay?" Sweet Pea asked.

Amy shrugged, pushing herself up on her elbows. "I mean, relatively speaking. I just need to talk to someone."

"Right," he nodded. "About the video?"

Amy nodded back, waiting for him to open the trunk so that they could climb out and change back into their clothes from the day before. They had the makeshift bed converted back into a trunk in no time, and soon found themselves parking beside the Jones trailer.

She had hoped to get some clean clothes before heading off, but when she saw Jughead's bike parked outside, she resigned herself to a third day in the same ripped jeans and leotard. Sighing quietly, she flipped down the car mirror, carefully fixing up her eyeliner and reapplying her lipstick before she tightened her ponytail and hopped out of the car.

"Meet you at the Wyrm later?" She asked, grabbing her helmet from her bike.

Fangs nodded, and tossed her her usual belt holster, which she strapped on with ease. She rolled back her shoulders and offered them a two fingered salute before climbing on her bike and taking off towards the jail.

She got there quickly, checking in and letting herself be guided to a seat, tapping her fingers on the counter while she waited.

"Princess."

Amy felt a weight lift off of her shoulders at the familiar drawl. After the weekend – after the past several weeks – she had really needed this; had needed the comfort of the one person she could always rely on, the pragmatic advice of the only person as calculating as she was, the steady self-assuredness of the only person who truly understood the stakes that Amy held in everything.

"Mal," she whispered, voice cracking. She coughed. "Mal," she repeated steadily.

"Long time so see," he said, kicking his feet up and leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah well, take the king off the board and everything falls to shit," Amy countered. "Haven't had time."

"Then fill me in," he told her.

Amy took a deep breath, tightening her ponytail – a habit more than a necessity – and straightened her spine as much as she could.

Once she started talking, it was impossible to stop. She told him everything – from how they'd gotten rid of Penny to the truth about Penny and Fangs to Nick St Clair to her to confusion about her relationship with Jughead to Toni's new interest in Cheryl Blossom, finally wrapping it up with everything that she knew about Hiram Lodge and his schemes. Her eyes were damp by the time she finished, her chest heaving. She reached up absent-mindedly, wiping away a few stray tears with her sleeve, and quickly examining her eyeliner in the phone's reflection.

She took a few shaky breaths, fighting the urge to slump back in her chair.

"I don't know what to do, Mal," she whispered. "Everyone is counting on me, and I have no idea how to fix this. I thought I could handle it, I did, but I _can't_. I can't see the full picture, and no one even believes me that he's up to something bigger, and I just… I'm used to knowing what to expect from people, I'm used to holding all the cards, but with him I've got nothing."

"You don't have nothing," Malachai corrected her, dropping his feet to the ground and leaning his elbows on his knees. "You have a trump card."

"You think I should use the video?" Amy asked.

"You ever seen Pirates Of The Caribbean?"

Amy blinked, but nodded.

"Wait for the opportune moment," he advised. "Keep it safe until you can see the big picture, until you know exactly what he wants. Then you figure out exactly what _you_ want, and that's when you strike. What is it that your king says about high grass?"

"A snake never sheds its skin, we lay low in tall grass," she parrotted.

"That's it. That's what you've gotta do, Princess. Lay low, keep an eye on him, and steal the cards out from under him. By the time you strike, he won't realize that you're holding all the cards. You get me?"

Amy nodded, smiling softly. "I got you. Thanks, Mal."

"Anything for my favourite princess. Now, what else can I solve for you?"

"I don't think you can fix all of my relationships," she chuckled wryly.

"You might be surprised," he retorted.

"Yeah? Give it your best shot."

Amy's eyes were bright, her smile wild, and Malachai couldn't help but grin back.

"Well, first you need to stop letting them jerk you around," he told her bluntly. "You said yourself that even when the princeling is fucking around with the Northsider, you show up when he needs you. You can't do that, Princess. You don't deserve that bullshit, but as long as you keep showing up he'll keep thinking that it's okay. Same thing for your brother. If he's gonna fuck you over to suck up to Hiram Lodge, that's his choice. But he doesn't get to do that and pretend that he's still on your side, and get whiny when you don't forgive him for shit that he's not sorry for. You bend over backwards to accommodate everyone's bullshit all the time, Princess, and that's not healthy. I know that you're scared of pushing back and losing them, but if you let them walk all over you then you'll lose _yourself_."

Amy found herself nodding along, listening intently as he spoke.

"I… I hear you," she said carefully.

"But you don't believe me?"

"No, it's not that. It's just… How do I know that I'm not the one being an unreasonable bitch? Like, we both know that I overreact to literally everything, how can I be sure that I'm not the one fucking up?"

"Well first of all, you stop invalidating your feelings." Amy blinked, pulling backwards with wide eyes. "I know you, Princess, better than practically anyone. You try not to feel anything because you think it makes you vulnerable, but you actually feel everything so strongly that you don't know how to handle it, so you tell yourself that you're being unreasonable because admitting that you can't cope with everything terrifies you."

"What the actual _fuck_ , Mal? I didn't come here for therapy," Amy told him, crossing her arms tightly and folding in on herself.

"You can't fix your relationships until you face your own issues," he said, crossing his own arms. "Your snakes are being shitty, true, but they can't actually read your mind, and if you don't talk to them about shit then they can't know that they're hurting you, you hear me?"

Amy sighed, looking down. "I hear you, Mal."

"Hey," he said softly, "look at me, Princess."

Amy looked up hesitantly, relaxing slightly when Malachai gave her a soft smile.

"You're the toughest person I know, Princess, you got this. And if they keep acting like idiots and you need to vent, you know where I'll be."

Amy giggled wetly, smiling at the older man.

"Thanks, Mal."

"Anytime. Now get out of here and go kick some entitled asses."

Amy giggled again, looking at the Ghoulie with bright, adoring eyes.

"I miss you, Mal," Amy said softly.

"I miss you too, Princess," he told her. "But I'll be out of here soon enough and drinks will be on me."

"Behave so they let you out early?"

"Oh princess, I always behave," he teased with a smirk.

Amy rolled her eyes at him, still smiling as he hung up and was escorted away. She waited until he was out of sight before hanging up her own phone and making her way back outside where, much to her surprise, Sweet Pea was waiting for her.

"You forgot your phone," he told her, seeing her raised eyebrow. "Meeting at the Jones trailer."

He elected not to mention Jughead's text, how he had apologized profusely for not joining them the night before, how he had explained that he was afraid of upsetting Amy and had wanted her to have a chance to relax, how he had all but begged Sweet Pea to get her to the trailer. He knew that Jughead and Amy were in a fight – although it didn't seem like Jughead knew what their fight was about – but he had developed a soft spot for the shorter boy and couldn't deny him a chance to fix things. Instead, he simply tossed Amy her phone, waiting for her to shove it into her holster and mount her own bike, and the two took off towards Sunnyside.

He was confused when Amy made her way to the Wyrm instead of to the trailer, but followed her inside all the same.

"Pit stop," she explained, ignoring the early morning occupants. She made her way to the bar, holding up three fingers to Hog Eye, who nodded and turned around. "If I have to deal with whatever bullshit has come up this time, no way am I doing it sober."

Hog Eye passed her three double shots of tequila, which she downed quickly. She accepted the offered slice of lime, biting into it and relishing the familiar burn of alcohol. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before opening them and offering Hog Eye a blinding smile.

"Thanks," she said, tossing the lime wedge into a nearby trash can.

She pushed the cups back towards him and stood, holding up a single finger to Sweet Pea and making her way towards the bathroom. She found one of the sections of the mirror that wasn't covered in graffiti and set about fixing up her makeup, tightening her ponytail and forcing a confident smirk onto her face before exiting, grabbing Sweet Pea's wrist once she reached him and leading him outside without stopping to talk to any of the other Serpents.

FP's lectures on drunk driving had long since settled into her subconscious, so she grabbed her helmet and climbed onto the back of Sweet Pea's bike. She certainly wasn't too drunk to function – possibly the only advantage of her biological father's parenting was her high alcohol tolerance, and she would easily give that up in exchange for a better childhood – but she knew that her reaction times were already too impaired for her bike.

She noticed that there were only three other bikes outside – Fangs', Jughead's, and FP's – and shot her partner a suspicious glare.

"So Sweets," she asked, with a dangerously sweet smile, "who did you say was coming to this meeting?"

"Hear him out, Doll," he told her. "He has no idea why you two are fighting but he wants to fix things."

Amy sighed, Malachai's words echoing through her head. She couldn't fix anything if she didn't talk to him. Okay, she could try.

"Fine," she said, following him up to the door and into the trailer.

She tensed slightly when she saw Jughead, but forced herself to stay calm as she made her way over to perch on the armrest of FP's usual chair, which Fangs had claimed for his own. Sweet Pea joined Jughead on the couch, and it appeared that he was about to say something when the door flew open again, and Toni made her way inside.

"I got your text, Pea, what's the meeting about?"

"Jug needs to talk to us."

"Really? At, what, nine in the morning?"

"Aww, poor Toni," Amy drawled, "having to leave the mansion. Tell me, did you have fun with the Blossom bitch? You spend the night waiting on her while she talked about how horrible and underachieving and inferior we Southsiders are?"

"Give her a break, babe," Toni told her sharply, "her parents –"

"I had a piece of shit neglectful alcoholic for a father, Toni," Amy spat. "We all have shitty parents. We didn't all turn out to be self centred, classist, arrogant bullies who treat everyone else like dirt. I don't know why you're so far up her ass but you can't honestly tell me that you've forgotten about how horribly she's been treating us, since even before we transferred to her school."

She wasn't sure exactly when she had stood up, but she took a deep breath and let Fangs guide her down to sit on his lap.

"I've _tried_ to be nice to Cheryl," Amy reminded her. "I've been trying since the day that I met her, but she has _never_ made an effort to treat me – to treat any of us – like anything other than dirt under her shoe. She's been mocking Jughead's living situation since the day she found out that he was homeless, she's been treating us like garbage since the day we met, I mean, god, Toni, do you not remember the day we transferred?"

"You know, I thought you of all people would understand having terrible parents," Toni retorted, and Amy exhaled sharply, feeling those words like a fist to her stomach.

"I do understand having terrible parents," Amy reminded her coldly. "I understand toxic households and abusive parents and all of the shit that comes with it. But I make a fucking effort to be better than that. I made an effort to befriend Veronica fucking Lodge, despite everything that her dad has pulled since she and her mom moved here."

Huh, maybe Malachai was right about telling people what she really thought, she could feel the invisible weight lifting from her chest with every word.

"I made an effort to befriend Kevin despite the fact that his dad let his deputies break my fucking ribs. Fuck, I'm pretty sure that I befriended Midge Klump yesterday, for no other reason than the fact that she also wants Kevin to be happy and find a good boyfriend. I made a fucking effort with Cheryl Blossom, and all she's done in turn is throw our situation, something outside of any of our control, back in my face time and time again."

"Amy—" Toni tried.

"I had to blackmail her into letting me join the River Vixens even though we both knew that I was better than any of her Northside girls, just because she couldn't consider letting a _Serpent_ onto her precious cheerleading squad. Maybe having shitty parents explains why she's such a raging bitch all the time, but an explanation is not an excuse, and I think it's bullshit that you're acting like she's some flawless tragic saint and not a grownass human being capable of making her own decisions—"

"Okay," Fangs interrupted. "Clearly there's a lot going on here but babe, why don't you give Toni a chance to think about your point of view, while you consider why she might be interested in Blossom. But Jug asked us to come here because he needed to talk to us, not to watch you two fight, so why don't we all calm down and listen to what he has to say?"

Amy took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and leaning back against him.

"I can do that," she promised, continuing to breathe slowly as she felt her heart begin to settle.

"So can I," Toni agreed, taking a seat at the kitchen table, turning her chair around to face them.

"Alright, Jug?" Sweet Pea prompted.

"I kissed Veronica," he told them quickly. "Or well, she kissed me. It was her idea, and Betty and Archie both know, and I didn't exactly _want_ to but I was hoping that if I just went along with her ridiculous crap for the weekend then maybe I'd be able to get some sort of intel on her dad's schemes, but well, clearly _that_ didn't work. I had to use her freaking _portmanteaus_ even, but no luck. I just, I don't know, I felt like I had to tell you guys, you know?"

He had started running his hands through his hair, tugging harshly as he spoke. Sweet Pea reached over to pull his hands away, rubbing a comforting thumb over his knuckles.

"It's okay, Jug," he said. "We get it. She's… pushy, and you thought that it would help all of us in the long run, we're not mad."

"At you," Fangs added. "We're not mad at you."

"We are pissed at her for pushing it, though," Amy told him. "That's decidedly not okay of her. And Jug? You never need to apologize for being forced into a situation like that, okay? It's not your fault, and none of us would ever blame you for that. You hear me?"

"I hear you," he said softly. "Toni?"

Toni smiled softly. "I'm with them," she assured him. "They covered all of it, but I'm with them one hundred percent."

Jughead took a shaky breath, smiling back.

"Was there something else?" Sweet Pea asked, watching him carefully.

"I… yeah, there was. It's… I mean…"

"Hey, take your time," the taller boy told him softly. "We've got all the time in the world."

Jughead gave him another small smile, leaning into the taller boy's side. It took a couple of minutes before he took another deep breath, relaxing slightly as Sweet Pea ran a hand up and down his arm.

"Betty and I almost had sex yesterday. We didn't—" he hurried to add, "but I think that if the robbery hadn't happened then we probably would have… and I'm just… I don't know. I mean, I wanted to – I think I wanted to – but then I thought about you guys and… I don't know if this is cheating on her or if that was cheating on you guys, I just… I'm not really sure what anything is anymore. And I felt guilty, I don't want to be cheating on anyone, but I don't know what's going on, and then Amethyst… you were so pissed, and I didn't understand why and then I saw myself in a mirror and I figured that it was probably because of that but you were pissed on Friday too so I'm not sure anymore, and—"

"Breathe," Sweet Pea told him gently.

Jughead nodded obediently, forcing himself to take a few deep breaths.

"And I'm just really confused about what's going on," he finished.

"So, what?" Amy spat, alcohol burning like a fire in her veins. "You want to brag about scoring the Northsider? Or do you need advice on discussing BDSM with Little Miss Perfect? Not sure how to tell her that you like it when Sweets pins your wrists and tells you how good you're being?"

"Amy–" Fangs said, but Amy ignored him.

"Was I thrown off by the fact that you and Cooper looked like you'd just fucked? Yeah, I was. But that's not why I'm pissed. I'm just… God, Juggy, I'm fucking sick of the hot and cold bullshit, okay? When you're not with Cooper, you seem like you really like being with us – and I don't just mean in bed. You seem like you like hanging out at the Wyrm and the sleepovers and the movie nights and all that, like you _want_ to be around us. But then the second that Cooper gives you the time of day, you're all over her and it's like we don't mean shit to you anymore."

"Amethyst?"

"I told you once that you'd always have a place with us. That whether you wanted a quick orgasm or an emotional investment, we'd be here. And I meant it, I did. I do. But this _isn't_ working. And I hate her, you know that, but I don't actually want to force you to choose between us – I'm not deluded enough to think you'd choose us anyways, and it wouldn't be fair to you. But when I made that offer, I didn't think that it would be this. That we'd go from a team, that occasionally gets each other off, to people who can't exchange more than two words without your girlfriend throwing a hissy fit. I'm losing my mind here, Jug, okay? I genuinely feel like I'm going crazy. I have no idea where I stand with you, and I'm terrified of showing up to school not knowing what response I'm going to get on any given day."

"Amethyst—" Jughead tried again.

"It's not healthy, Jug, not for either of us. I'm not going to tell you that you can't date her and be with us, in whatever way, but _I_ can't keep going the way that things are. Look I… I want – no, I don't _want_ to have this conversation, but I know that we have to. But I'm exhausted and I'm drunk, and I've been wearing the same underwear for three days and I just, I can't deal with this right now."

Amy stood quickly, feeling the world spinning slightly as she adjusted to the change. She exited the trailer quickly, holding her necklace tightly in her left hand. She heard the door slam shut behind her, taking a shaky breath and heading towards the bikes. Wait. Her bike was still at the Wyrm. She cursed loudly, kicking a rock.

Suddenly she remembered why she was there, and that there were still four people right inside that trailer who were no doubt in the middle of deciding which one of them would talk to her and, well, she wasn't ready for that.

With one more curse, she tightened her ponytail again and took off sprinting down the street. Despite her admittedly short legs, and the height of her boots, she was still a fast runner – no one grew up on the Southside without becoming fast, it would be a death wish. She was panting by the time she reached the Wyrm, but she forced herself to slow her breathing and pasted her usual cocky smirk onto her face. She straightened her spine until it hurt, pushing open the door to the bar and strutting inside. The bar was still relatively empty, so Amy made her way back to the bar.

"Back already, kid?" Hog Eye asked. "I might need to cut you off."

"You never cut me off," she retorted, "but I'm not here to drink. Could use a water, if you don't mind, but I'm actually just gonna head to the back for a while – you mind keeping everybody out?"

"I've got you," he assured her, sliding her a glass of water.

Amy's smile softened into something less sharp, more genuine, as she took the drink. Hog Eye was no FP, but he'd always done his best to look out for her.

"Thanks," she said quietly, finishing off the glass. She slid it back to him before standing, quickly making her way to the back room.

She wished the door had a lock, she always had, but she trusted that Hog Eye would keep an eye out – and most Serpents didn't even know that it was there.

She kicked off her boots and unstrapped her holster, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. She let her hair down from its ponytail and was about to tie it into a bun when she saw the doorknob twist.

She tensed, reaching for the knife in her holster, but relaxed when she saw that it was Fangs.

"I come in peace," he told her, raising his hands playfully. "And I come alone."

"Funny," she deadpanned, "I came here to be alone in peace."

"Them's the breaks," he retorted, and Amy couldn't help but smile. "That was quite the speech you made, both of them."

Amy sighed loudly. "I don't want to talk about it," she told him.

"Too bad," he said easily, kicking off his boots and shedding his jacket. "This has clearly been weighing on you for days, if not weeks. I'm not oblivious babe, you've been upset for way longer than a weekend, and you need to talk about it."

He crossed the room, sitting beside her on the mattress. He pushed at her shoulders until her back was to him, pulling the elastic off of her wrist and carefully twisting her thick hair into a braid.

"That's what Mal said, too," she admitted.

"Well, he's always been pretty good at getting through to you," Fangs said. "Maybe you should give it a shot."

"Isn't that what I just did?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "You vented – which is fair, obviously you really needed to get that off your chest – but you haven't done much in the way of really talking."

He finished the braid, tying it off with practiced ease, and pulled her down until they were both lying on the mattress, her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her protectively.

"What's the difference?"

"Well, you explained a lot of things that were upsetting you," he acknowledged, squeezing her slightly, "but we, as a group, still need to actually talk everything through until we're all back on the same page, you know? It's us against the world, it's always us against the world, but that doesn't work unless we all know what's going on. And as glad as I am to know what's got you upset – and I really am – you haven't talked as much about why it's upsetting you so much, especially the Toni and Cheryl crap. I mean, you definitely did a bit more of that with Jug, but I think they're all still kind of confused. I know this has been building, but it kind of came out of nowhere today and none of us are really sure why."

"Well maybe I don't _know_ , Fangs," Amy shot back, "have you ever thought about that? Maybe I'm just sick of you all acting like I'm going crazy for being suspicious of Hiram Lodge, even though my so-called paranoia has never been wrong before, maybe I'm just sick of feeling like I'm going crazy when Jughead plays so hot and cold that I'm ready to call him Katy Perry. Maybe I think it's bullshit that Toni decided to bail on us when she's the one who decided we were going to see the movie in the first place."

She took another deep breath, sighing contentedly when Fangs moved his hand to her shoulders, massaging them gently. She could feel the tension seeping out, and after how much of a mess the past few days had been, she felt like she might cry from relief. She nuzzled closer into his chest, finding comfort in the familiar smell of soap, grease, and leather. If everything else was going to fall apart, it was a comfort to know that there were still some things that didn't – wouldn't– change.

"Maybe I also think it's bullshit that Toni only suggested that we go to see the movie so that I would shut up, not because you all knew that I've been wanting to see it for months. Maybe I'm pretty fucking pissed that she didn't just bail on us but that she bailed on us to see it with the girl who's been treating us like dirt for, well, ever. Or maybe… You know what, Fangs? Maybe I just don't fucking know why I'm so upset."

 **XxXx FIN xXxX**

Once again, I am so sorry about how long it's been since the last update! I got really focused on a few other fics, fell into a very severe depressive spiral, started this chapter, went into quarantine, had a very difficult time with online schooling bc it's so ableist and I'm too deaf for that, and then finally got back into this! When I first started this chapter, I expected to maybe churn out a couple thousand words that would only feel partially forced as I try to get to a specific arc, but instead here we are with a 21k chapter that I am beyond proud of, and a now 100k long fic, which is _insane_ if you ask me!

I will be organizing some sort of reader celebration event on my tumblr (randomestfandoms-ocs) if any of you want to come check that out, and I promise that I create a lot more for Amy over there if you're tired of waiting so long for updates haha! I know that I always say I'll try to update frequently and then I _don't_ , so I won't make any promises like that, but I really am hoping to not take like 9 months to update anymore!

Love you all, and thank you for sticking with me on this journey!


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